The challenge
by Nuredhel
Summary: Thranduil and his mistress agrees on a rather naughty bet, they both have to seduce a very pious and boring elf each and they have one week to finish the task. But Things do not always go according to plan...as a matter of fact, Things can go haywire... Sequel to a Cure for boredom. A naughty little tale.
1. Challenge accepted

Chapter one: Challenge accepted.

The king was dozing, feeling almost half asleep and yet awake and alert. Candriel was laying almost on top of him and she was sleeping, completely exhausted from one of their very vigorous encounters. He had to grin, she had proven to be very good for him, he wasn't by far as tense and ill-tempered as before and they had sort of found an balance between her very naughty and yet submissive nature and his more demanding demeanor.

She trusted him completely and that did in fact make him feel a bit humble, and he did appreciate her and her youthful mischief more than he dared to express. He didn't love her, nor was he in love with her, but he was fond of her, very much so. She had filled a hole in his soul that had been draining him of life and energy for years and for that he was eternally grateful. The morning sun was rising outside of the palace and he knew he had to get up and get ready to face yet another challenging day but he didn't really want to. Having her warm weight on top of him was heavenly and it made him feel appreciated, in a whole different way than the appreciation he received from the rest of his subjects. She was breathing slowly and he let his eyes slide across her skin, slowly. Her curves were like a beautiful landscape of hills and valleys and he felt himself stirring yet again. He grinned and let a hand slide down along her spine, caressed her firm ass gently and she moaned in her sleep and stretched against him.

She was like a playful little kitten, and at the same time addictive like poppy milk, he rolled them over and she woke up and squealed but he saw the light in her eyes. She was ready as ever, and understood him better than he understood himself. " My lord, you are already awake?"

He nodded and nuzzled her neck, nipped at it with his front teeth and she shivered and hissed, a grin on her lips. " Indeed I am"

She chuckled, a slender but strong hand slid down along his body and found what it was looking for. " And already you have arisen to the occasion, how considerate of you"

He got her legs out of the way, she was still wet from their love making just a few hours earlier and he slid into place with a hearty moan. " I…aim…to please"

She giggled and rocked her hips against him, this wouldn't take long, and it shouldn't. He had a council meeting to attend too, and then he had to meet some traders to discuss some new agreements. Candriel had some special mewling sounds she made when she was near and they were so darn erotic it always set him off. He felt her tense up and then she squealed in delight and shook beneath him and he let go, came so hard he was seeing stars and he roared from the very bottom of his chest. When he was able to gather his senses again he found himself laying on top of her, covered in sweat and she had wrapped her arms and legs around him as if she wasn't going to let him go. " I wish I could be awakened thus every morning."

Thranduil had to snicker, he kissed her lazily and she let go with a sigh and winced as he slid out of her and sat up at her side. " Then I will become known as the only elf to ever have faded from exhaustion!"

Candriel giggled and yet again she reminded him of a cat, she laid on the bed, stretched out and she was so wonderful, her honey hair like a golden river against the by now rather sticky sheets and her dark eyes playful. " Oh but you won't my king, it is I who will become too tired at the end I am sure, your strength is never coming to an end."

He leaned over and kissed her cheek again. " If you say so my gem."

She rolled over on her stomach, Eru how nice her ass was. " You have a council meeting today?"

He nodded and put on a dressing robe. He would need a bath and some food, but the bath was the most important of those two. He did reek of sex and he wondered how the council members would react if they discovered that scent coming from their king. He had to chuckle from the images that idea conjured up within his mind. " I do, I cannot say that I am looking forward to it, but I am after all the king. It is my duty."

Candriel grinned. " Remember the first time you took me? With those two guards, I wonder if the council members ever have had such fun in their lives?"

Thranduil scoffed. " I bet not, they are all a bunch of pious old fools, dry as tinder and with as much energy left for other things than meddling with my affairs as a that shown off by a sleeping mole"

Candriel giggled. " And some of them resemble one too."

Thranduil had to laugh. " Yes, in special when I do not agree with their propositions. I remember how Failaron reacted when I didn't want to raise the taxes yet again, I have never seen an elf getting a heart attack before but I was sure he was inches away from having one. "

Candriel was licking her lips. " I wonder if they are able to have fun at all, or if they spend all their time just thinking about politics."

The king scoffed. " To them that is what life is all about Candriel, it is their sole joy in life, that and annoying me."

She got a peculiar expression within her eyes. " Really? You think they are completely dry, devoid of any sort of urges except the urge to be a pain in your butt?"

Thranduil nodded. " Yes, most certainly."

Candriel sat up, she was very graceful and her grin very wicked indeed. " My lord, may I make a suggestion?"

Thranduil was a bit intrigued by the flame flickering within her eyes. " Yes? "

She tilted her head. " Say, if they got tempted, do you think they would give in to temptation? Or would they shun it?"

Thranduil sat down again, confused and also a bit curious. " What do you mean?"

Candriel had a very wicked expression on her face. " I mean that I bet I could make even the most pious old ellon forget everything about decency and self-control."

Thranduil felt a surge of something that felt like excitement. " Oh you do now? Do you think you can make any ellon become so overcome with lust he will fuck you no matter what? Is that what you are saying?"

Candriel grinned, her eyes dark and her expression one of someone very sure of one self. "Yes, I am sure I can"

Thranduil almost purred. " I don't like to share you, but my dear, the idea is absolutely amazing. If you manage that and I just happen to see it I will have a grip on that council member he won't be able to escape."

Candriel leaned against him. " You are right my king, so, do you want to bet?"

He grinned widely. " Most certainly but I think there ought to be some further preconditions."

She pouted. " Name them my liege"

Thranduil felt excited, this ought to be interesting. " I will chose the one you are to seduce, it has to happen in a public place, most preferably the garden with the pond in the middle of the palace and somebody must be watching you and trying to avoid being detected."

Candriel was purring. " Oh, you like the idea of a voyeur don't you? But fine, and I am sure you too will be watching right?"

He nodded and she leaned forth and kissed his cheek. " I will do it, but if we are to bet you ought to be challenged too"

He raised an eyebrow. " I do? What then?"

She giggled. " You most certainly do. I bet there are a lot of very strict ellith here who could benefit from a really good tumble."

He sent her a wry grin. " You think so? Alright, name your conditions my sweet."

Candriel was thinking hard for a few moments." I will name the ellith you are to bed, you have to do it somewhere within the halls in a public area and she has to be loud enough for everybody to hear her but nobody must discover it is you who is causing the racket."

The king chuckled. " Harsh conditions my dear, but I think I can manage yes. "

Candriel nodded." And to make it interesting we both have no more than a week to finish our task"

Thranduil tilted his head, feeling his heart starting to beat a bit harder with anticipation. " I accept that, what are we to bet over?"

Candriel laid back upon the bed, her legs carelessly open and he groaned at the sight. She did it on purpose, he would have a hard time concentration upon the meeting and the agreement. "There is to be a feast eight days from now, the one who fail to complete their part of it will have to wear whatever the other part chooses for them, alright?"

Thranduil smirked. " Fine by me, and the reward?"

Candriel grinned wickedly. " The other part will have to be completely obedient to the winner for a week."

The king nodded his head. " Seems reasonable, but if we both manage to do it?"

Candriel sniggered. " Then we reward each other with two days in these chambers, doing whatever we wish for."

He grinned and thought that two days away from his duties seemed like a glimpse of paradise. "Good idea. A very good idea."

Candriel looked at him expectantly. " So, who am I to go for?"

Thranduil had to think. " Uh, Failaron?"

Candriel scoffed. " Thran, please, it is supposed to be a challenge remember? Everybody knows that he is one kinky ellon with an appetite for some practices I prefer not to partake in"

Thranduil frowned. " Are those rumors true?!"

Candriel nodded. " Oh yes, one of the other servant maidens spent the night in his rooms and she resigned from her job the next day, she didn't enjoy having to pee on somebody and she enjoyed being peed on even less"

Thranduil sighed, what a mental image that conjured up, no wonder that ellon always preferred wearing slightly yellow robes. " Then he is out of the question, right, a real challenge? Lord Elhadron!"

Candriel whistled and raised an eyebrow. " Now, there we have a true challenge. Alright, I am inn"

Thranduil knew that Elhadron was a widower who had shunned all earthly pleasures after his wife died. The sad fact was that his wife had been a really terrible nag and the marriage had been hellish to say the least. The elleth had controlled her poor husband in every way and rumors said that he barely had been allowed to touch his wife at all and that she loved to humiliate him. If Candriel managed to awaken the libido in that ellon Thranduil was ready to bow down to her in deep respect and admiration.

"So, who am I to try to seduce?"

Candriel's eyes got narrow, she was thinking hard, really hard. " I thought of Lady Ferdhiniel but she is probably too easy to seduce, no, I think I have a good challenge for you my lord, what do you say about the fair lady Gelinnas?"

Thranduil almost snorted, he stared at her with disbelief. " Are you serious?! Oh Eru you are! There is no elf on Arda more religious than her damn it, to her the words of the valar is like…well. She was seen smiling once, once! And that was when an ellon who had been unfortunate enough to swear near her got an arrow lodged in his ass by accident."

Candriel giggled. " The very same my king, surely you are up for it? She isn't ugly."

Thranduil shivered. " No, she isn't, but those eyes? I am not so sure that she isn't the cause why the Helcaraxe is frozen. One glance from her and even molten steel freezes."

Candriel nodded with zeal. " Like I said, a real challenge."

Thranduil had to think fast. " Is there any restrictions on how I go forth? Can I use some slight magic?"

Candriel frowned. " Well, I cannot see why not? As long as it isn't the kind that renders her without a will of her own or changes her personality or something. It has to affect you, not her"

" So I can disguise myself if I need to?"

Candriel nodded. " Yes, the point of this is to see if they can be seduced, not the person doing the seduction?"

Thranduil had an idea. " Alright. One week from today. "

Candriel shook his hand vigorously. " Indeed, one week. May the best win, and I think this is gonna be so much fun."

Thranduil smirked and got up, walked towards the baths. He would have to start working on his plan already today, if he was to crack the ice so to speak he would have to use every trick in the book, and invent some new ones while he was at it. Candriel couldn't have chosen a worse target but he was going to be the winner here, most certainly.

Candriel left for her own chambers and he took a quick bath, he entered the council meeting right on time and had managed to put on his usual cold indifferent mask and he had to snigger to himself when he saw the dignified faces of his council members. Most of them had been inherited from his father and of them almost all had also worked with politics in Doriath before it fell. They were stubborn, stuck to their old ways and more than once Thranduil had wanted to do something really outrageous just to see what would happen. The world was changing but they seemed unable to understand that simple fact. He was not Elu Thingol nor his father and he wasn't some reckless youth with no experience. Getting a sort of hold on them would be so sweet, maybe they would be less cocky then?

Candriel went to bathe and she was thinking hard about her plan, Elhadron was probably scared of females, everybody with a wife like his would be. Candriel knew that the elleth had been the kind of person who makes up for her lack in beauty and power with sheer nastiness. He ought to be easy to flatter, and perhaps even easier to read. She had to be rather good at that.

The first thing she had to do was to discover his weak spots and also what sort of routines he had. It ought to be rather easy since he was known to hardly ever leaving the palace, he was obviously trying to pretend as if he was still living in Doriath and Candriel had some ideas already. She had been a servant for many long years and she had learned a few tricks the masters didn't really think off. She wandered off to the servant's quarters and before long she had found the ones working for that particular lord and she managed to get quite a lot of information out of them. Everything she heard could be used to her advantage in one way of the other and she grinned and felt rather certain that this would be a piece of cake. She did almost pity poor Thranduil, his task was probably going to be so much more difficult than hers.

Thranduil did suffer through the meeting, his only solace was staring at lord Elhadron and imagining how he would react to Candriel and her techniques. The lord was a very slender elf, or rather, he was tall and thin and looked very ascetic indeed. He was well known for being rather stingy and he would never spend a single coin on anything he didn't see as absolutely needed so his robes were centuries old and he only ate left overs and things that the chefs threw away. But he was greedy too, and some rumors said that he was filthy rich. Thranduil couldn't quite see the joy of being rich without being able to enjoy it.

The traders were there on time and at least that meeting was interesting, the forest did still provide the elves with many things others also sought and their neighbors did covet both furs and spider silk and herbs too. In return the elves got metal and other things they couldn't make themselves and the treaties had to be re made every now and then. Thranduil was glad to see that this was the same men as the last time, he knew them and knew how to both flatter and impress them. It shocked him to see how fast humans did succumb to the ravages of time though, the leader had been a young man the last time he saw him, now there were streaks of silver in that dark hair and he was wrinkled and worn.

After the meeting Thranduil went to a room of which few knew much, there had been an ellon there who served his father and he had studied alchemy. There were still quite a few things of his left and Thranduil had a very wry grin on his face. He had paid attention to what that ellon had been doing because he thought it was very interesting and also just to keep an eye on the activities that were going on there. He didn't want another Fëanor working within his own realm. There were a few things left that could prove to be useful in deed and he was going to use that elleth's piousness to his own benefit.

Candriel had managed to get a fairly good understanding of lord Elhadron's daily routines, he would always spend some time in the small garden that was placed next to the public library. It was fairly open and there were benches and tables placed everywhere so that people could take the books with them and read there and enjoy what almost felt like a natural forest. There were openings in the roof of the caves that let the daylight in and the garden was in fact very beautiful even in winter. Elhadron would read there for two hours each day, very early, and he would drink two cups of thin tea while he was at it. He didn't allow anyone to disturb him so she had to be rather clever in order for this to work. But her plan was ready, and she was pretty certain that it would work too. Everything was prepared and she would start the very next morning.

Thranduil felt how his hands shivered ever so slightly, he felt tense and adrenaline was flowing through him, this was more exhilarating than hunting orcs! He had located the rooms the lady owned and he knew that there were secret passageways that lead to almost every room in that part of the palace. He had drawn the entire palace and knew every nook and cranny of it. It would come in handy now, and he had to play his role to perfection. It was indeed a challenge and he felt strangely young again, eager and full of mischief. This was very different from the ordinary life he was living and it was naughty too. His father would have warmed his butt if he had been alive and had heard of this plan.

He knew that the lady Gelinnas was the horror of the entire court, well, at least the horror of the court ladies since she suffered from a very strong "Holier than thou" syndrome. She never failed to complain about the faults of others and she had a vicious and very poisonous tongue which was feared by all. Maybe he could manage to put an end to her constant nagging? She regarded everybody else as sinful and depraved and by Eru how sweet it would be to make her taste some of her own medicine. He had to start working on the plan already that night and so he entered the secret corridors well after midnight with an insane grin upon his lips and a bag full of stuff he hoped none others would see.

The lady always went to bed early and she didn't have any chambermaids, the sole reason was that none managed to stay in her service for more than a few days before she found some flaw with them. They were either too flirty, dressed provocatively or were disrespectful, that was her opinion at least but everybody knew that she just loved to use her power and self righteousness to make others cower before her. Lady Gelinnas had never married, she had been betrothed once while young but her fiancé broke the engagement when he to his horror discovered that she strongly believed that certain marital activities only ought to be performed with the purpose of conceiving children and that it shouldn't be enjoyed at all. It had left her feeling very bitter to say the least and maybe that was why she apparently hated ellyn.

Thranduil had found the secret door and he was glad she was alone, if anyone else saw this there would be quite a racket. He had gotten his disguise on, some was magic but much of it was just a costume with some of the alchemist's stuff added. He was nervous, very nervous but also filled with anticipation. The lady was in bed, wearing a nightgown that probably had more in common with a full suit of armor than what ordinary elleth wore to bed. He could have sworn it would be able to stop arrows since it was so thick and solid. Now that was a sex-killer if he ever had seen one, but that would change for certain.

Gelinnas were sleeping soundly and he had to agree that she was rather beautiful, if she had been a normal elleth everybody would have regarded her as a great beauty but her personality was everything but beautiful. In fact he had met friendlier orcs! Alright, he took a deep breath and whispered a small spell that made his voice sound rather unearthly and powerful. The costume he wore had been smeared with a liquid that made it glow in a soft blue light and he had also added some of it to his face and hair and he had put on a wig and changed his facial features with some make up and spells. He didn't look a bit like himself and he just hoped that she would be so overwhelmed by this that she didn't see through the disguise at all.

Gelinnas was dreaming sweetly about the day when she could stand by the throne of Manwë himself and tell the lord of the valar of all the sinfulness and depravity of the others living there. She saw sin and filth everywhere and that very day she had given the chef quite a scolding for having served chicken legs. After all, they were legs. It could put improper thoughts into the minds of the young and corruptible. But she was of course above all such thoughts, she was as clean and pure as snow and she was convinced that she would have been able to convert the dark lord himself if he had come face to face with her. The truth was that the dark lord probably would have fled for his life and sanity but she wasn't able to see that.

Suddenly Gelinnas woke up with a start, a very powerful and yet strange voice had called her name and for a second she was afraid it was the very lord Namo who was calling her to him, but she wasn't ill or anything? Then she managed to open her eyes and saw a shining figure standing in the middle of her room. She almost swooned!

The voice called once more and she squeaked. " I…I am here"

The figure bowed slightly, the unearthly glow was so strong and she wondered if this was some ghost but it was too substantial. " Be greeted child of Eru, thou art blessed, thou art chosen"

Thranduil had to fight hard, very hard, not to snigger, oh Eru this was precious. " I am?!"

She had gotten up, sat in the bed staring with huge eyes at the apparition. " Yes thou art child, my lord Manwë has chosen thee before all other ellith to receive a special blessing"

Gelinnas was practically beaming with pride, finally she was rewarded for her devotion and faith. " What might that be oh mighty messenger?"

Gelinnas was sure that this had to be one of Manwë's maiar and she was almost shivering with reverence and awe. Thranduil did for a second feel a bit guilty for fooling her thus but then he remembered how she usually treated others and the guilt vanished like mist for the sun. " A most precious gift, one not bestowed upon any other's for ages. Thou will be sanctified by the touch of the maiar"

Gelinnas was a bit confused, she had never heard of that before but it sounded grand, and a tiny bit frightening too. " Oh my lord, my lord, I am deeply honored."

The glowing figure did slide a bit closer and held out his arms. " Indeed, before it is done thou must be prepared and it will take a while"

The lady was almost shivering. " I am ready, do with me what thou must"

Thranduil had a hard time holding back his own laughter, the old fashioned language and all made this all seem rather surreal and he saw that her eyes were shining with religious reverence. " First of all, I must behold thy hroa to make sure that it isn't in any way damaged, for a tainted body cannot be sanctified."

The strange hollow and yet very full voice clearly made her convinced that this was some divine being and she bowed her head. " Command me oh my lord, and I will obey. "

" Thou may call me Alcarin, I am the mighty Manwë's servant."

Gelinnas was staring with huge eyes and her mouth was an O. " I am so honored"

He could see that she was trembling and he hadn't believed that she was that easy to trick. But in spite of all her piousness she was rather naïve and also uneducated. " Then remove thy robes so that I may behold thy hroa."

She didn't think of the fact that the lord Manwë probably saw everything from his throne, she got up on her knees and pulled the nightgown off, shivering visibly. She was in fact very beautiful with a body she had no reason to be ashamed of. Her legs were long and shapely and she had a narrow waist and a beautiful behind and those breasts of hers were a shame to hide within those thick ugly dresses she often wore. He gestured for her to stand up and turn around and she obeyed, her eyes shining and she was wetting her lips. " My…Alcarin…what will happen to me?"

He managed to send her a comforting grin. " Wonderful things child, trust in Eru. It is his will after all. Be not afraid, for I will prepare thy hroa to be filled with the light of the valar, to be cleansed of all evil."

She was obviously very confused but also convinced that this was real, she nodded. " I see, how…how is this…done?"

He reached out and let his hand gently slide over her cheek. " I will awaken the light within thee, through thy truly beautiful hroa, and then thy light may merge with the light of the valar and thou will truly become blessed."

He had to put all of his trust in the assumption that she never really had felt desire, that she was untouched and he was sure that he was right in his assumptions. If she had been touched she wouldn't have been that convinced that sex was a disgusting duty and not a pleasure. She probably believed that it only could be done in one way and that there wasn't more to it than that. She bit her lower lip. " Really? Oh my lord, I…I am scared"

He caressed her neck and she trembled. " Do not be, I will visit thee for three more nights before the blessing may be fulfilled, for each thy will be brought closer to the sacred moment."

She swallowed. " Oh…alright then."

He smiled and bowed his head. " Indeed has my lord chosen well, thy are as brave as thy are worthy. Now, let me see if thy hroa is capable of housing that most sacred of light."

She whimpered and he started whispering something in quenya, it was actually a very rude drinking song some noldo had taught him before the fall of Doriath but he knew that she didn't speak quenya and to her it probably sounded like some sacred prayers. He placed both hands on her hips and she squealed and closed her eyes for a second, completely overwhelmed with awe at the idea of being touched by a maia. He hid his smirk, oh she would be easy to bed, that wasn't the problem at all, the problem was the part of the bet that required that he took her somewhere public, that would be the real test here. " Thy hroa is worthy of worship child, a true gift of Eru. Now, allow me to worship it as it deserves.."

She bit her lower lip, there was a hint of pride in her eyes. " Is it really worthy of thy touch?"

He nodded solemnly and knew that the glowing fluid masked his features quite a lot. " Thy hroa is truly more lovely than those of any valie."

He caressed her ass and it was perfect, that it belonged to such an unpleasant person was such a shame, but maybe it would change from now on. Gelinnas whimpered and he could see that her heart was beating rather fast, her hands were trembling slightly and he could smell that she was both a bit nervous and also getting a bit aroused. He continued to caress her ass and she hissed and closed her eyes for a second. " Thy are feeling it aren't thou? The light gathering within thy hroa? The heat of it?"

She nodded, and he let a hand slide up her back and then he let it slide back down in a slow comforting rhythm. The other hand stayed on her butt but he was gently massaging it and she nodded a bit shocked. " Oh yes my lord, I feel it, the warmth…"

He cooed and continued with his massage and he did notice that she had started to sweat, it was really amazing how fast he had managed to turn her on. Not that it in itself was a shock but he wondered if he would be able to make her so desperate for it that she allowed it to happen in a place where others may see them. " Then let's continue beautiful one, let me show thy the light."

He leaned forth and kissed one of her nipples and she gasped and her eyes rolled in her head, she was breathing hard now. " Oh my lord, oh yes my lord"

He then went on to sucking and licking it while pinching her other nipple and she squeaked and bucked against him, panting. " That is perfect child, there is so much light within thee, can you feel it wanting to break free?"

She nodded, and he slid one hand in between her legs, she immediately tensed up but then she hissed and relaxed, moved her legs so he had room to touch her. Darn, she had probably thought that the only way to experience pleasure was with a cock inside of her. She was getting wet and he had to fight hard to stay in character, she was really tempting but he had to make this a slow process to convince her that it was all for real. He quickly found her clit and caressed it slowly and she started shaking, making mewling sounds. " Oh my lord, oh Eru, I can feel it"

He kissed her neck. " Yes child, through thy hroa I may awaken the light within thy fëa, bring it forth in all its blessed splendor."

It was of course just bullshit but right now she would believe whatever he told her. He continued, supporting her with one arm and before long she tensed up, gasping for air and then she screamed and jerked, eyes rolling and face contorting with ecstatic spasms. Holy Eru, she was indeed a screamer, wonderful. There was no doubt that she was coming hard and he grinned to himself. This was going in the right direction. " Oh Alcarin, I saw it, I saw the light, it was wonderful"

He managed to stop himself from sniggering. " Yes lovely one, it is. And I will show thy more of it tomorrow."

She looked eager. " I am humbly awaiting thee."

He nodded. " I will return tomorrow night, go to bed and go to sleep and I will come to thee yet again to prepare thee further."

She wet her lips. " Yes my lord. "

He gestured for her to get back into the bed and she did, he could see that the insides of her thighs were shiny with wetness and he couldn't wait to see what she would do whence she had a cock buried deep within her. He bet she would be absolutely wild. He mumbled a short spell that induced sleepiness. " Sleep now child and do not tell any of this to anybody before the power of the valar is truly within thee."

She yawned and shook her head. " I will not, I swear it on thy lord Manwë."

He leaned down and kissed her hand. "Good, sleep now"

She drifted off to sleep and he chuckled. This was going to be very funny indeed. He got out through the hidden door and ran straight to his private bath to get rid of the glowing liquid. It wouldn't come off with touch and only soap could remove it so he had quite a job ahead of him but he didn't mind. It had left him aroused too and he thought about sending somebody to fetch Candriel but he decided that she would need her strength for her own task. He wondered if she too had started to prepare for the task ahead, probably yes. He sighed and resigned to taking care of his problem on his own, after he got involved with Candriel he didn't need to seek release on his own that often but tonight he did, and afterwards he just lay there with his chin barely above the water, relaxing and allowing his mind to drift.

The morning light was already streaming down through the openings in the roof when Candriel was in place. She had prepared well and knew exactly when lord Elhadron usually showed up. She did also know where he preferred to sit and now she was ready and eagerly awaiting his arrival. The garden was filled with bushes and trees and luckily for her there was one bush just in the right spot, or rather, a hedge. It wasn't that tall, but it was dense with a lot of branches and it had thorns too. Now she had arranged herself within that bush, and she was standing on her hands and knees with her upper torso deep within it and she wore a thin silk gown that would tear easily, even more easily than normal since she had deliberately cut some of the seams.

She knew that she would receive some cuts from the thorns but that was such a small price to pay and she didn't mind sacrificing some blood to win this bet. She already had some great ideas for what she would make the king wear. There were footsteps coming from the narrow gravel path that meandered through the garden and when they got a bit closer she started to struggle and squeaked and called out for help.

Lord Elhadron was busy reading about a very interesting comparison someone had made between elderly edain and old potatoes and he was so immersed in it he almost tripped over a pair of legs sticking out of the hedge near his favorite bench. He looked down, they were female legs no doubt and now he heard a thin voice sobbing. " Somebody, please help me, I am stuck!"

He put the book upon the table, tilted his head. " Uh, excuse me my lady but, what are you doing within the hedges?"

He heard a shivering voice answer. " I lost my earring and it fell into the hedge and I tried to get it and then I got stuck"

Elhadron had of course been brought up to be just as polite towards females as other ellyn, he was just a wee bit afraid of them. No wonder considering how his own marriage had been, he was sure that his wife had been Sauron's unknown sister or something like that for nothing he ever did was good enough for that female. Now he was in a dilemma, how did he help this poor young thing? He decided that he had to grasp onto something and pull, and so he did. He grasped the bottom of her dress with his face turned away and pulled. She squealed and the dress fell apart, he suddenly stood there with a huge piece of lovely lavender colored fabric in his hand and then he turned his gaze around in shock and stared at a very bare backside that by now was wriggling desperately. " Oh Eru, get me out of here before somebody sees this!"

Elhedran was horrified, his eyes glued to that very shapely ass and she didn't wear any underwear so he saw it all, absolutely all. " Ah…Uh…"

He reacted out of sheer panic, crouched down and grasped onto her hips and pulled once more, there was more tearing sounds, some pained shrieks from the poor unfortunate maiden and then she came loose and flew backwards. Since he was straight behind her he suddenly ended up with her ass pressed against his crotch and he hadn't let go at all so the position was scandalous to say the least. The elleth shook her head, obviously in shock and he felt that warm softness pressed against him and yelped when he realized that his body had started to respond to the stimulus. He let go of her, almost desperately, and tore off his outer robe to cover her with.

The elleth was bleeding from several cuts and he did notice that she was very lovely with huge dark eyes and honey hair. Valar, he was so embarrassed, he had certainly dishonored her, oh she would be furious. He brazed himself for the scolding of a lifetime but the elleth just smiled sweetly and got to her feet, holding his robe around her to preserve her dignity.

" Oh my lord, thank you so much, I was really stuck in there."

She leaned forth and placed a very chaste kiss on his cheek and he blushed and felt himself sweating. " Ah, it was…just a pleasure my lady"

She put her earring back on and Eru, her eyes were so sparkly and her torn dress couldn't hide the fact that she had a very nice body. In fact it did the opposite of hiding anything. He wished he was anywhere but there but he couldn't be impolite and just run off. " What is your name my lord? I am most grateful for thy help?"

Her voice was sweet and low and he managed to straighten himself up and smile, although it was a very stiff smile. " I am lord Elhadron my lady. "

She giggled, it sounded like silver bells. " A lord, oh my, well thank you again, that hedge has such nasty thorns."

She stuck a finger in her mouth and sucked on it, very innocently but Elhadron suddenly wondered if there was a dragon near by for the air had gotten so terribly hot all of a sudden. He whimpered. " Indeed it does my lady, ah, should I escort you back to your rooms, I mean, do you need assistance, uh, you are bleeding and…"

She shook her head." Thank you so much kind sir but it isn't that bad, I can manage. I will return your robe, I promise. You are here often?"

He nodded, the dress had a tear straight over her chest and he thought that he did see a nipple in there, Eru! " Yes, every morning!"

She batted her eyelashes. " Wonderful, I will return it then. "

He stared at her, mesmerized by that sweet face. " You will? Oh, yes, of course, I will be here"

She touched his hand gently. " Until then my savior"

Elhadron had to swallow hard, savior. That was hardly the word he would have chosen but he was glad she left for his pants were tight and he was shaking all over. All he felt was that soft rear pressed against him while he had his hands firmly attached to her hips and he moaned and had to sit down with his legs crossed, pulled the table closer to hide his shame. Eru's mercy, he shouldn't think like that, it wasn't right. Alright, his wife was dead and the way she had behaved it was more likely that lord Namo would release all of the Feanorions at once than letting her return to life but nevertheless, he was regarded as a married man and…

Elhadron had simply shut himself off, he had turned all of his attention to his favorite pastime, reading and politics and one of the reasons was that his marriage had been a very chaste one to say the least. She had been in command the whole time and she had mocked him a lot and left him with a sense of being so inferior and flawed he never had dared thinking about other females at all. The few times he had been allowed to touch his wife she had complained about him being boring, being too loud, being too small, too lazy, without a sense of rhythm and so on and so forth until he stopped asking her completely. Naturally they had no children and he knew that he would spend his life in loneliness until he sailed. He couldn't risk getting involved with females again.

But this one, so sweet, such lovely dark eyes, he shouldn't dare to hope but he did anyhow. Maybe his luck was about to change? Oh he shouldn't, he really shouldn't, he would most certainly make a complete fool out of himself but that feeling…. Elhadron wasn't able to think about the book now, he couldn't get her face out of his mind, nor her body. He could smell her still, and he gave up. With a gasp he got back onto his feet and ran back to his chambers, closing the door hard behind him and just praying that nobody had seen his far from dignified exodus. He didn't know what to do, the images in his mind were so indecent his wife would have made him deaf from her yelling had she been there and known about it and he was aching.

He wandered around the rooms almost desperately, trying to think of everything else, tax reports, the number of sacks of flour stored in the storages, the best way to cure piles, it didn't work. All he could think about was that soft back end pressing against his body and with a hoarse yell he threw all resistance out the door and ripped his pants open, fell back into a chair which threatened to dissolve into its smallest parts from the impact and grasped onto himself. He hadn't done that since he was a mere youth, before his wife put the shame and fear into him, but his body still knew how it felt, and how it ought to be done. He closed his eyes and panted as he kept thrusting into his own grip and he groaned and whimpered and before long he came hard with a scream, legs shaking and hips jerking desperately and he thought he could die, it was such a relief, such an insane relief.

When he came to again he discovered that he had thick streaks of seed all over his chest and hand and his tunic had to be burned for sure for he couldn't let the washing ladies see this. But he felt better, in control again. He sighed and got up on trembling legs, he couldn't remember ever having felt thus with his wife, he couldn't remember coming at all in the years they had spent together. But now he had flushed the desire out of his system and could go back to normal, thank Eru for that. He had needed it but now things didn't bother him that much anymore and he could return to the books and give them his full attention.

He allowed himself to relax for a few minutes more, then he got out of his soiled clothing before he took a quick bath. Tomorrow she would return his robe and that would be the last he would see of her. It was as it ought to be, he was way too old for such a beautiful thing and she would never allow him to touch her, after all, there were so many attractive young ellyn around.

That evening Thranduil met Candriel by chance in one of the corridors, she bowed her head to him and grinned widely. " How are things going?"

He returned the smile. " Very well thank you, I have managed to convince that pious hag that I am one of the maiar and that I am to "bless" her"

Candriel laughed out loud. " Oh Eru, that sounds like a great plan, but will she allow you to do it somewhere public?"

Thranduil cocked his head. " When I am done with her I bet she would agree if I suggested doing it upon the throne."

Candriel shook her finger back and forth. " Do not be too cocky now my king, being to over confident may come back to bite you."

He just sniggered and raised an eyebrow. " And you my dear, how are your plan going so far?"

Candriel giggled. " Very well thank you, I think I gave that poor ellon the first hard on he has had in years. I bet he is somewhere in his rooms wanking off right now, and tomorrow I will continue, he is surely going to learn that not all females are fire breathing dragons."

Thranduil petted her on her back and stole a quick kiss. " Just let me know when you are going to go for it for real, I want to watch. "

Candriel sent him a wry grin. " Worry not, I will."

Thranduil saw her wandering off to work and then he returned to his own rooms to prepare himself for the nights great endeavor, soon he would have Gelinnas eating off his hand, he was sure of it. He would win the bet and then he would really reap the fruits of his labor. He chuckled to himself as he found the costume and the liquid, he could almost taste victory already and the taste was sweet.


	2. The heat is on

Chapter 2 The heat is on…

He hurried along, found the right entrance and made sure that there was nobody near, when he was safe inside of the secret passage he got the costume on and then he smeared the fluorescent goo all over him. He was shining like a goddamn beacon by now but that didn't matter, only Gelinnas was to see him anyhow. He stopped by the secret door and listened, nothing. She was asleep and so he slowly opened the narrow door and slid inside, made sure that the door was closed behind him and that he didn't make any noises.

Gelinnas was asleep, she had to have had some sort of revelation last night for this night the nightgown/armor was gone. She was in the nude! Thranduil had to stop and stare, she had kicked the covers off and was laying on her stomach with her head tilted to one side. She had drooled on the pillow and was snoring ever so slightly but that didn't make her any less desirable. He whispered the spell that transformed his voice and then he walked until he stood at the edge of the bed and called out her name. Gelinnas woke up with a start and a yelp and then she threw herself around, kneeling on the bed facing him.

"Oh my lord, you did come"

Thranduil managed to stay perfectly composed but it was hard, seeing her like that with her ass in the air kneeling in front of him put images in his head that he would have preferred to forget. He had to remain in character damn it. " Of course child of Eru, did I not promise to return?"

Gelinnas was staring at him with awe, her eyes alight with reverence and joy. " Oh my lord, I have felt the light within me ever since thou left, and I ache to feel it yet again. I feel blessed already"

Thranduil almost let out a snort. " Oh but you are, and thy blessing will only increase from now on."

She looked eager, no, ravenous! Thranduil started to have some doubts, had he had such an impact on her? Damn! " I…I have dreamt of thee my lord, and I…I ache to feel thy hand upon my hröa once more. "

Thranduil stepped a little closer and smiled, she was practically shivering and he could smell how aroused she was. He had a sensation of having unleashed something that could prove to be rather volatile. Didn't this elleth have any sense of self-restraint? She was panting and he grasped her gently and got her up on her knees, kissed her brow and she made a weird sound and grasped his hand, pressed it against her chest. " Listen my lord, my heart is beating only for thee, show me thy light once more, I beg thee"

Thranduil did barely believe his own ears, yep, he had apparently created a monster. From being as close to frigid as it was physically possible to be for an elleth she was well on her way to now becoming a nymphomaniac. He had to stop her somewhat disturbing pleas so he kissed her. She jerked and then she grasped onto him and kissed him back, with no skill whatsoever and a lot of zeal but he felt almost as if she was trying to chew his face off. Damn! He tried to distract her with some tongue but that only made it worse, suddenly she obviously figured out that tongue was alright so she tried to push her own way past his tonsils. He gently pushed her back a bit and tried to nibble her ears and was rewarded with a shriek and she was grasping onto him for dear life, gasping and shaking. " M…My lord, I need it, I need it so bad…bless me yet again!"

He was a bit shocked by her sudden desperation, she had to have harbored centuries of pent up and neglected desire to be able to act thus. She grasped his hand and put it between her own legs and he had never ever met an elleth who was that desperate. And wet, she was sopping wet and he made a decision there and then. He kissed her again and lifted her, put her down onto the bed. " Of course, I am overjoyed to see that thy hröa is this ready for the light of the valar."

Before she had time to react he had placed his head between her legs and went to work with zeal and Gelinnas shrieked and thrashed and grasped onto his hair. He was afraid that she would pull his wig off so he grasped her wrists and put her hands onto her own breasts. She got the idea immediately and massaged them almost desperately and her hips were bucking so hard he had to hold onto her to stay in place. She didn't last long, in fact only a couple of minutes max. She threw her head back and yelled as she climaxed shaking all over. " The light, I see the light ooh yeeesss"

He held her and tried to conceal his slightly pained expression for her voice cracked and wasn't at all pleasant to listen to. As a matter of fact it reminded him of the cooks old donkey when it got angry. He fought the urge to answer her with a " Hee-haw, hee-haw"

Gelinnas almost collapsed onto the bed, sweaty and wild eyed and he caressed her legs gently. " I think my lord never could have found a vessel more worthy of the light, thou are like the very stars of the skies"

Gelinnas blushed, she actually blushed. " Oh my lord, I am so honored. I feel as though the light is filling me completely, it makes me want to sing!"

Thranduils initial thought when hearing that was " Oh dear Eru, spare me!" but he didn't say it out loud and to his horror she did indeed start to sing. A hymn that was both old and very beautiful but she managed to transform it into something which the king only could compare with the dying shrieks of an injured warg. Her voice ought to be regarded as a lethal weapon, it made his ears ring, and by Morgoth's minions, she would have made a bunch of ring wraiths sound like a friggin boy's choir.

He hadn't even known that it was possible to be that out of tune and she did slide on the tones, probably to create some sort of sentimental effect, it sounded a bit like a very angry cat trying to intimidate a rival. " Dear child, thy gratitude is enough, now, let me bless thee yet again, once the night that was, twice this night and thrice for the night to come"

She lifted her head and blinked, obviously in awe. " It is possible to be blessed more than once, oh Eru how wonderful!"

He smirked but hid it. " Indeed it is dear child, and needed, so that thou can receive the full blessing at last."

He bent down yet again and started exploring her with his tongue and this time he did tease her entrance with his fingers, hoping that she would respond the right way. She did, her eyes rolled and she let out mewling sounds and he started to use his fingers with some force and to his shock she was literally pushing herself onto them. He wondered if Candriel's victim was that eager? Probably not!

Before long she screamed again. " Aaahh…Ahhh…Alcariiiiin"

No doubt she had healthy and very strong lungs, but that screaming could be heard even through the thick walls of the palace so he shut her up by kissing her again. " And now child, thy light is nearly free and almost as strong as it can be. Soon Manwë's full blessing will be upon thee."

She was still gasping for air, eyes filled with wonder and awe. " I cannot wait, I am so grateful, I feel so…so aglow"

He got up and was glad his robe was very long and flowing, it hid his arousal very well. " But thou are glowing beautiful one, glowing with the most sacred of lights"

She giggled and he sent her a gentle but stern glance. " And remember, not a word of this to anyone before thy full blessing has been received"

She nodded eagerly. " Not a word, I swear. I cannot wait to see the look in the faces of the infidels when I tell them how my faithfulness has been rewarded"

Thranduil had to disguise a scoff as a light sneeze. " Indeed, and now I bid thee a good night once more, sleep and recover, tomorrow night I will visit yet again and bless thee thrice."

She had an expression of sheer joy on her face and he felt guilty yet again but no, he wasn't going to lose that bet, no way. She did enjoy it and perhaps she would become a little less cocky and a bit more tolerable when this was over. One could always hope.

He whispered the sleep spell and her eyes did slide out of focus, before long she was sleeping and he slid out of the door once more. He was more than a bit shocked by the way she had changed within just one day, she probably had no idea of the fact that what he had done to her was sex, it was really a bit tragic but at the same time hilarious. He shuddered, had they had just a handful of ellith with a voice like that Sauron would have entered the void voluntarily, just to get away. In fact, both he and Morgoth would have begged for it.

He hurried back to his rooms and forgot to look out, for when he got out of the secret passageway he suddenly saw a servant maid and a warrior who stood in a corner making out rather vigorously. Before he could run and hide both saw him and the maid screamed and appeared to faint and the warrior just stared with eyes like dinner plates!

He was obviously in shock, and Thranduil managed to swiftly open another hidden door and disappear through it, swearing loudly to himself. Now they had both seen a tall glowing figure appear and disappear into the very walls, how long would it be before somebody thought the place was haunted? He moaned and took another route back to his rooms, when he finally got there nobody else had seen him but he knew that it was only a matter of time before somebody came to fetch him so he ripped his costume off and hid it in a secret drawer within his closet. Then he almost ran to the bath and jumped into the pool, scrubbing away at the glowing fluid rather vigorously.

There was a banging sound coming from his door and he sighed and rolled his eyes. Just perfect, he was still aroused from his encounter with that previously pious now turned nympho elleth and he feared that he had speckles of paint still stuck to his skin. He grasped onto a dressing robe and pulled it on. " Who is it?!"

An anxious voice answered from outside. " Galion my liege."

Thranduil took a deep breath, just to prepare himself. " Enter"

He knew that Galion would suspect something if he wasn't allowed entrance and Thranduil did check himself in the mirror swiftly, just to make sure that the paint was gone. The robe was wide so Galion wouldn't see that the king was sporting quite an impressive hard on, and most importantly, he would understand it if the king appeared to be grumpy. Everybody would be grumpy if they were interrupted in the middle of a pleasant bath.

Galion walked right in, the normally very composed butler appeared to be in a state of shock, his eyes wide and his cheeks had lost most of their usual color. Galion was well known for being a bit too fond of the king's best wines, Dorwinion in special and he did have a unfortunate habit of helping himself to some wine every now and then. Thranduil had come across his butler sleeping it off in some hidden corner more than once and had chosen to ignore it, after all, poor Galion had a job nobody would ever envy him and to have survived this far with his sanity intact meant that the ellon had the health of an Oliphant and the patience of a saint or rather a whole bunch of them.

"My lord, there…there has been sightings of a ghost within these very halls!"

Galion did almost squeak and Thranduil scoffed. " A ghost? Oh for Eru's sake ellon, some guard must have taken a few glasses of wine too many, or eaten the wrong mushrooms. Ghosts? Bha!"

Galion swallowed hard and stared at the floor, his hands were trembling. " My lord, it was one of the washer maidens and her…ah…companion, and they swore it was your father!"

Thranduil managed to maintain the sour expression but on the inside he cringed. " Oh for fucks sake, my father? I can assure you that he wouldn't come back to haunt us, his fëa is safe within Mandos halls and he has no reason to bare any sort of grudge against us now does he?"

Galion looked a bit like a fish that has been pulled up too fast, eyes bulging and mouth opening and closing at an alarming rate. " But my liege, they were sure! A glowing tall figure, walking through the walls. What else can it be?"

Thranduil sighed as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders and at this very moment it felt that way. " Galion, I was bathing! I will look into it come the morrow, now leave me be!"

Galion bowed slightly but he didn't look a bit less worried and Thranduil did feel a sting of guilt once more. Galion was so loyal and such a good friend too it was wrong to dismiss him like that but he had to. He watched as Galion returned to his duties and then he went back to the bath. The next night would be easy too, he was sure of it, but the day after that? That would be the very test itself. He let the warm water wash away all his tension and wondered how Candriel was faring with her chosen target.

Candriel did make sure that she looked absolutely marvelous that morning, she had put on a dress that looked very modest but could become seductive with a few grips and she had also made sure to bathe and put on some very nice perfume she knew the ellyn loved. She had Lord Elhadron's robe under her arm as she returned to the park and she made sure that he had arrived before she did. He sat at his favorite bench as usual, reading some scrolls and she wondered how one of the first born, eternally young and so forth, could look so haggard? He did look as if all the sorrows of this world had been thrown at him and she supposed that it was no wonder considering how his married life had been.

He did notice her and got up, bowed politely and yet she saw that he was a bit nervous, there was a glimpse of something akin to shame within his gaze and Candriel knew enough about ellyn to immediately realize the reason. She hid her grin and put her face into a very innocent and naïve mask she knew fooled most. She had after all been a servant for many years, she had to be able to read others well and tend to their needs and she was proud to say that she was rather smart. Candriel knew that she had to get a bit further with him this day, preferably as far as possible. She had yet some days left but she couldn't postpone anything, it could prove to be a disaster if the lord suddenly got cold feet.

She handed him the robe. " I have washed it my lord, I hope your wife won't mind?"

She kept her voice soft and sweet and naïve and Lord Elhadron swallowed and looked a bit bothered. "Uh, uhm, I am not married young lady, I am a widower. "

Candriel opened her eyes wide, stared at him with shock written all over her face. " Oh I am so sorry my lord, I humbly apologize."

Elhadron had a peculiar expression upon his face. " Uh, it has been many years since my wife passed away, I am not offended in any way. "

Candriel batted her eyelashes, pretending to be very relieved. " I am glad my lord, I do not want to awaken sad memories."

Elhadron shook his head. " You didn't, as I said, it has been years."

Candriel put up her most compassionate expression. " Yet it saddens me to hear of your loss, how did your wife…pass away?"

Elhadron swallowed. " She was out riding with some other ellith and her horse got spooked and threw her, she landed on a rock and broke her neck poor thing."

Candriel managed to press forth a few tears. " Oh Eru, how tragic. Were you very close?"

Elhadron had problems tearing his eyes away from her neck, it was so long and slender and the skin so fair and smooth, he was sure it would feel like velvet to the touch, oh Eru what was he thinking? According to the ancient laws he was still married! But he did doubt that he would meet his not so sweet wife again, if Namo had been foolish enough to welcome her to his halls he would quickly have regretted it, there had to be some hidden vault within the halls deep and distant enough for her, or perhaps the void had received yet another guest? Oh no, that would be cruel, Morgoth had been terrible but not that terrible, being cooped up with Eldanara was torture.

"Ah, no, our marriage had…cooled off long before her sad demise."

He didn't mention that he had brought that rock back home, now it had a place within his small apartment carrying a small table and upon it was written " My savior" Candriel sighed. " Still, it is very tragic, was she sweet?"

Elhadron shook his head, if his wife had been sweet then it was sweet poison. " No, she was a very…stern elleth, very…self-assure."

Candriel nodded with such compassion within those lovely dark eyes. Elhadron suddenly found himself fishing for more of that, shamelessly. " As a matter of fact my wife was…a terrible person, the things she did to me, oh Eru you wouldn't believe it."

Candriel blinked and he stared at her lips, so soft and pink and inviting. His wife's lips had been thin and hard and the only thing they did invite was the wine she sometimes did drink, just to calm her stomach as she put it. " That sounds dreadful, didn't she love you?"

Elhadron felt sad, and yet in a weird way eager. " No, our parents arranged the marriage, to bring our families together. They…they didn't exactly manage to find somebody who matched us well."

Candriel pouted. " That is terrible! You poor thing, imagine spending many years with somebody like that!"

Elhadron had never met anyone who did really listen like that, who didn't laugh at him. And he wanted to hear that sweet voice comfort him. He didn't know what got into him but he continued talking. " Sbe didn't even allow me to touch her, I was in bed with her only a handful of times and she tried to make me feel ashamed of myself. "

Candriel looked as if she was on the brink of crying. " Such a hag, treating a nice ellon like you in such a foul way, you poor thing"

She reached out and let her hand slide across his cheek and he gasped, he had never felt anything that soft in years. " Ah, well. I guess she had some sort of problem and took it out on her surroundings."

Candriel was almost whispering, oh that soft voice, so compassionate. " She sounds like a very nasty person then, it must have been a nightmare living with someone so self-centered? "

Elhadron nodded eagerly. " It was, but she is gone now."

Candriel had found his Achilles heel, his weak spot. She leaned in a little closer. "So I guess that means that you never truly have loved someone, that is so tragic."

Elhadron found her tone of voice very endearing and she was so close to him. " No, no I cannot say that I have."

Candriel tilted her sweet little head and batted her eyelashes. " But all ellith are not like that you know? She must have been the one elleth born with a mean nature."

Elhadron tried to smile but his face felt stiff, awkward as if it wasn't his own. He couldn't possibly hope that she…no!

" I guess you are right, but she did leave…ah…quite a lot of difficult feelings for me to sort out and I haven't really gotten over her."

Candriel batted her eyelashes, looked so very compassionate. " Really? Oh you poor soul, that must be so hard."

Elhadron thought to himself that she didn't have any idea of just hard it could be, but kept it to himself. " It is, I have to admit that. But I have learned to live that way and I have accepted it."

Candriel touched his hand gently. " So, you haven't been with anyone then? Since she died?"

Elhadron almost choked when he realized what she meant with her words. " Uh, no, I didn't before either, I mean…"

Candriel got up on her toes and kissed him on his lips, a rather chaste kiss but it made him squeak and feel light headed. " Oh!"

Candriel smiled sweetly. "There, now I have scandalized you for sure."

Elhadron fought the urge to grasp onto her, return the kiss with desperation. " Thank you, nobody has kissed me thus."

She raised an eyebrow. " Really? Never?"

He nodded. " Never, I…I have just been with my wife and she…she didn't like to be touched"

Candriel pouted. " That was her loss then, but you do know that it isn't supposed to be like that at all?"

Elhadron felt both embarrassed and at the same time strangely eager. Surely she wasn't like his wife? She wouldn't humiliate him would she? " Yes, of course."

Candriel knew that she had to work while the iron was hot so to speak so she got up on her toes yet again and kissed him once more, this time it was a real kiss, not a peck at all. Elhadron couldn't believe it, it felt…it felt as though he was about to burst from something he had yet to experience. He wanted to grasp her, hold onto her, feel her in every thinkable way but his past experienced stopped him, somebody had to set him free and it appeared as if this gorgeous blonde would do that and do it gladly too.

Candriel put all of her talents to good use and before long Elhadron was panting and feeling so very hot indeed. She knew she had him, and now it was time to reel in the catch. She kissed him yet again, with tongue and he was shaking all over. Poor ellon, he had probably never made out with anyone for real and she grasped his hands and put them on her hips. Elhadron squeaked and held onto her so hard she would have bruises later on but she didn't mind. No wonder that counsellor was so pious and up-tight. He had been afraid of his own feelings and needs and that is never healthy in the long run. But she would make sure that he would be very relaxed and happy and last but not least satisfied when she was done with him.

Candriel had a naughty expression within her eyes, she knew just what to do. She let a hand slide down his body and Elhadron gasped and for a moment his eyes were huge with shock. Then he made a weird sound and his hips jerked involuntarily. Candriel could feel that he was hard as the stem of a mallorn and quite impressive too, for an ellon that lean. This would be fun! Elhadron had closed his eyes, the feeling of a hand caressing him through his pants was just too much, it was way more than he could cope with but he couldn't fight it. It just felt too wonderful and he saw sparks and stars and felt his legs shaking.

Candriel was purring. " Feels good doesn't it?"

He only moaned and she grasped him and pulled him with her until they stood in a small open spot between some beeches and some tall bushes. She kept caressing him and he leaned back against the stem of one of the trees, barely able to breathe. Candriel knew that it still was a long way to go before he got so eager he would take her so she did what she could to throw more fuel on the fire. She opened his belt with fast fingers and unlaced his pants and he didn't even notice until she suddenly had his cock free and out in the open.

Elhadron had come to resent that part of himself, his wife had mocked him about it and had managed to make him ashamed of his own body but this heavenly creature was touching him in a way his wife never would have dreamed off and it felt so good, it felt so good he could have died and what if somebody came by and saw it, but screw that thought, she couldn't stop, he would die if she stopped.

Candriel knew that he was rather close already, just from her hands alone, he was leaking and shaking all over, eyes glazed with lust and she did in fact pity him a lot. With that amount of frustration within it was no wonder he became rather stern and unpleasant towards others. She wanted to see how far he would let her go and sank down, crouching in front of him.

Elhadron blinked and looked down, what was she doing down there? Had she dropped something? Oh Eru! The feeling was insane, it was so good he could have wept, and he could only put a hand on top of her soft locks and allow her to do it. He had never even dreamed that he would have this experience and now he was ready to thank every known deity for this.

Candriel was a master at this, she knew just what to do to keep an ellon on the edge without pushing him over it and Elhadron was gasping and moaning and trembling and he had thrown his head back with his eyes closed and his mouth open. Nothing had ever felt that good, nothing! Candriel was using her tongue with zeal while she took him as far down her throat as she could and she got a kick from the fact that somebody could come by and discover them. She was well hidden by the bushes but anybody who saw Elhadron's face would understand what he was going through.

She was merciful and let him climax, Elhadron pressed his fist against his mouth to stop himself from screaming, he was coming so hard he feared that his heart would burst from it but what a way to go! She swallowed, by Eru she had allowed him to come in her mouth and the very idea was almost enough to make him pass out from sheer gratitude and shock. His legs almost gave in on him and she licked him clean and got his cock back into his pants and laced them back up. He was just leaning against the tree with his eyes closed, sweat running off of him and a heaving chest. " You have never experienced that before now have you?"

Elhadron could only shake his head and make a sheepish and very happy grin. " I am glad I could give you some pleasure my lord."

He wanted to sit down but then his robes would get soiled. He had never felt that well in all of his life, ever. " T..thank you"

It was all that he could say and Candriel kissed him with passion. He could taste himself of her lips and that almost made his heart skip a beat or two. Candriel let a hand run through his long dark hair and smiled sweetly. " You are very welcome. I can show you so much more if you like?"

He couldn't believe his own ears. " You can?! Uh, do you really want to… I mean…"

Candriel kissed his cheek. " Most certainly."

He felt a burning hunger for more, nodded almost desperately. " Yes, yes please, show me more!"

Candriel just smiled. " Then meet me tomorrow, in the main garden, the one with the pond? Early!"

Elhadron blinked a few times. " What if someone comes by and sees us?! "

There was a hint of panic in his voice and she put a finger over his lips. " Do not worry, we'll meet there, then we can go somewhere else. I think I want to let you take me then."

Elhadron couldn't believe his ears, she would? Oh Eru's mercy, he had never thought that he would have the courage to try to fuck someone again after his wife's nasty treatment of him but now he ached to. " For real?"

She reached up, licked his ear and he hissed and shuddered. " For real my lord, you can have me any way you like, on my back or on my knees, we can play horse and mare if you like? Or you can take me up against a wall, or on a table. I really long to feel you within me"

Elhadron hadn't believed that he could get another hard on that fast but he could and she gently rubbed him again until he was seeing stars. " Until tomorrow my lord, I am looking forward to seeing you once more"

He was rolling his eyes, tomorrow was so far away, it felt like an entire age. She let go and he whimpered and wanted her to continue but of course she was right, soon there would be other elves everywhere and then they could be discovered. He grasped her hand, kissed it and she giggled and gave him a swift peck on the cheek. " Tomorrow, before sunrise, remember that!"

He felt that his grin was a silly one by now. " Yes, I will be there, for sure."

She looked back at him as she walked off, Valar how sweet she was. " Until then"

He nodded. " Yes, until then!"

Candriel hurried back to her chambers where she got herself some food and changed into a different dress. She grinned to herself. This was going the right way for sure and she would win. And when she won she would make the king wear something rather spectacular for sure, but she was also rather convinced that he wouldn't like it that much.

She stayed in her rooms until there was a knock on the door, she already knew that Thranduil would be curious about her progress and she wasn't surprised when she discovered that it was him. He looked as regal as ever and he did grant her a small smile as she let him in. " How are things going?"

She heard the tension within his voice and smiled. " Well, surprisingly well I must say. He isn't that hard to seduce at all."

Thranduil raised an eyebrow, it almost touched his hairline. "Really? I would have guessed that Elhadron had forgotten he had a cock!"

Candriel stared at her own fingertips with a very naughty expression within her eyes. " Oh not anymore, I can assure you of that. He has been re-awakened for sure."

Thranduil leaned against the wall, his posture did really show off his lean and yet muscular frame and she knew he did it on purpose. " So, how did you do that?"

Candriel sat down in an armchair, she leaned back and knew that she looked very lovely like that. " I found his weak spot of course, what else do you think I did? I have discovered that there is a heck of a lot of penned up heat within that seemingly bone dry ellon"

Thranduil sauntered closer to her, sat down on his haunches next to the chair and stared her straight in the eye. " Tell me, tell me everything."

Candriel played with her hair. " First I just kissed him, and he liked that."

Thranduil leaned forth and caught her lips in a very heated kiss, it felt rather demanding. "Like that?"

She opened her mouth and let him have access to it. He immediately trust his tongue into it and his eagerness didn't surprise her at all. He probably felt like he had to prove to her that she after all still belonged to him. "Yes, pretty much like that yeah."

He caressed her neck and there was a dark flame blazing within his eyes, he was jealous but it only fueled his fire that much more and Candriel knew she would get it this time and not in a nice and gentle way. " And then?"

Candriel licked her lips. " I caressed him, right where he wanted my touch and by Eru how ready and eager he got."

Thranduil growled, he leaned forth and nipped at her neck, licked it and she shivered and yelped. He was turning her on, big time. " Show me!"

It was a demand, not a question and she sat up and grasped his hips, got him into the right position before she started caressing the bulge in his pants firmly and yet with gentleness. He hissed and closed his eyes. " Yes, and then?"

Candriel tilted her head. " I showed him what a good blowjob is, amidst the bushes and trees. He almost passed out."

Thranduil chuckled but his eyes were black now and he quickly opened his own breeches and got himself free from his underwear. Candriel stared up at him. " Shall I my lord?"

He nodded. " Yes, exactly as you did with him, go on"

Candriel purred. " Oh I love it when you are so demanding and kingly."

She started licking and sucking and caressed his balls too with her free hand and he groaned and grasped onto her hair, held her in place. Candriel was rather good at relaxing her throat, she had to be to be able to handle his length and girth and she was a bit glad Elhadron was quite a lot smaller than the king, even if he was far from tiny.

She knew that her lover would come fast this time, his thoughts and mental images would see to that. The idea of her sucking someone else off probably turned him on in a whole new way and she was right. It only took her half of the normal time to make him come, hard and almost violently. He just stood there and panted and Candriel knew that he loved this. To him it was a kick to be this much in power and she liked to see how far she could go with her slightly unusual ideas.

"So, how about the lovely lady Gelinnas, have you made her sing yet?"

Thranduil cringed visibly as he laced his pants back up. " Eru, don't mention singing. She did try to sing last night and I have heard orcs that sounded heavenly compared with her."

Candriel took a swig from her wine glass, stared at him with some amazement. " Really?"

Thranduil sat down and got his hair out of his face. " I have to confess one thing to you Candriel, I fear that elleth will become a handful after this is over. She was ready to rape me last night, or at least it felt that way."

Candriel almost choked on her wine. " What?! She did?"

Thranduil nodded and his eyes were distant. " Indeed. I think I awakened a sleeping dragon, or something of that kind."

Candriel had to laugh. " Are you comparing that elleth's libido with a dragon?!"

Thranduil shrugged. " Oh yes, they are both hard to cool down whence they have gotten the heat going and both can be devastating and dangerous"

She tilted her head, pulled her legs up and he stared at her knees. " Really? She cannot be that bad?"

Thranduil sighed. " She is very fond of coming, I have realized that by now, she will wear me out before I even have a chance at our bet."

Candriel leaned forward. " Did you fuck her?"

He shook his head. " Nope, just hands and tongue, the way she screams they will hear her over in Mordor when I take her, I am bloody sure."

Candriel giggled. " You'd better ask everyone to wear earplugs then, so we won't have a huge group of deaf warriors on our hands."

Thranduil bit his lower lip, there was some mischievous sparks dancing within that ice blue gaze. " That would be too bad yes."

Candriel pulled her skirts up a bit, spread her legs. " Maybe you could demonstrate your technique to me? I swear I won't scream like a ring wraith or anything"

Thranduil sniggered. "Thank goodness for that, I have never come across a tone deaf elf before but she cannot have the slightest idea of how terrible she sounded. Half a dozen singers like her and we could clear the forest of orcs and spiders once and for all. Although on second thought, it could be considered as cruelty to animals."

Candriel giggled and he got down on his knees in front of the chair and put his hands on her knees, spread them with a firm gesture. " I expect only pleasant sounds from you my dear, not screeches that would make a balrog piss its pants."

Candriel gasped as he got to it and clung onto the chair for dear life. " You won't be disappointed my lord, I swear"

He was good at this, Candriel tried to resist but there was no use in it, she came hard and wriggled underneath him. The king hadn't had enough for he got his pants down and pulled her forth so she lay with her butt resting on the very edge of the seat, her legs were firmly pressed against his torso and he pushed himself into her with one determined thrust. Candriel gasped his name and just enjoyed the sensation of being filled to the point where it almost hurt, He wasn't that rough usually but now he was thrusting into her with wild abandon and groaned continuously. Candriel used her long legs to press him even closer as she reached her second climax, and she just knew that this chair would have to be washed thoroughly. It was probably soaked in their juices by now. He followed suit, grasping the chair so hard it creaked and threatened to dissolve into splinters. He was terribly strong and his passion and jealousy made him forget his own strength.

They just lay there heaving for air and Candriel let a hand slide through his hair. " Tomorrow morning I am planning to do my share of the bet, I have convinced him of the wisdom of meeting me before sunrise in the garden."

Thranduil had a distant expression within his eyes. "Do you think he will go that far? And will there be somebody watching?"

Candriel chuckled. " Oh he will forget his own name, believe me. I will not fail at this. And yes, I have a plan concerning the voyeur too, fear not."

Thranduil smirked. " I do only fear that you will be terribly disappointed when you lose my dear."

Candriel shook her head. " Oh, do not count on it my lord, maybe it is you who ought to be nervous?"

He snorted. " No way, it will happen, before long I will have that elleth and I don't care if the valar themselves show up, I will win"

Candriel leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes, she felt as though she needed a hot bath, and some more wine. " Well, the bet isn't over until we both have tried so good luck my lord."

He leaned forth and kissed her neck. " The same to you my dear, and now I must go and attend to some kingly duties."

Candriel waved him off. " Go have fun, give those council members something to chew on"

He winked at her as he exited the door. " Will do!"

Candriel smirked where she lay. That elleth Thranduil had chosen would never allow him to fuck her in a place where somebody may catch them, or would she? Maybe Gelinnas deep within was just as unorthodox and naughty as she was herself? Terrible thought, she had to remain positive. Yes, tomorrow morning she would be the winner for sure!


	3. And the winner is

Chapter three: And the winner is…

Thranduil had problems sleeping, in fact he felt miserable. He was tossing and turning in bed like there were ants underneath his covers and he hissed and sat up, feeling as though he would explode. It shouldn't be that hard to win that darn bet, he was sure he would win but Candriel would at least try to get Elhadron so horny he forgot about everything else and fucked her and the very idea of that scrawny haughty old sinda on top of his Candriel, thrusting like a rutting animal almost made him growl.

Yes, he was jealous, he was so jealous he honestly considered cheating! It wasn't in his nature to do that but he felt almost aglow with a deep rage. He had tried to catch some sleep in the middle of the day but there was no use in even trying. She had given Elhadron head! He of course knew she would when he agreed on the bet in the first place but he hadn't really entertained the idea of what it truly would mean until now. There had to be something he could do! The idea of watching her seduce that pious old lord aroused him and yet he didn't want it to happen and it wasn't because he was afraid of losing. No, it was because he wasn't the one in charge of the situation. When he and Candriel had seduced those two guards he had been able to control everything, they had done what he told them to and nothing more.

This however was very different, he sighed and poured himself some wine, stared at the red liquid with narrow eyes. Hmm, what was he to do? He couldn't interfere in a way that would suggest that he indeed tried to make Candriel lose the bet, that was way below him. And he couldn't call it off, he wasn't going to let her know just what sort of a grip she had on him. No, it had to be more subtle than that. He took a sip of the wine and grimaced, it tasted rather bad and he scoffed and poured the rest out into the hearth of his room. Galion had been watering it out again, he would have a word or two with that butler of his.

Wine…Elhadron was very fond of wine, he knew that from previous meetings with that ellon. He favored the rich heady red wines they imported and he was very fond of wines from one vineyard in particular. This could be exploited, yes, it had to be used. He made a plan, rather quickly but before he had time to do anything there was a knock on the door and Galion almost burst into the room, he was red in the face and his eyes were shooting lightning. Thranduil had never seen his butler looking that pissed off before and backed up a few steps. " Yes? What is the matter? Are there balrogs in the basement?"

He felt rather merry now since he had a plan to follow and Galion scowled, he looked as if he was ready to bite someone's head off. " If it only was that easy! No, that…the sighting of that ghost has made some people very nervous my lord. And some elflings deemed it proper to put on some sheets and scare the living daylights out of the cook and some maidens"

Thranduil had to laugh. " Oh Galion, that is hardly worth such fuss now is there? Harmless fun I say, elflings will always do such silly things. Remember when Legolas tried to test how many shirts he could fit into the toilet? The entire lower level got flooded for days!"

Galion rolled his eyes. " My liege, that was just water, what if the ghost sees them and thinks that they are mocking him? "

Thranduil had to snort, it didn't sound very dignified. " Galion, if you mention this ghost business even one more time I will forbid you from touching my wine again for a year, is that understood?! "

Galion gasped and looked very guilty all of a sudden. " But my liege, those elflings?"

Thranduil sniggered. " Just tell their parents what they were up to, no harm done. I hardly think that a ghost, whatever its intentions may be, will become insulted by some children running around screaming boo boo"

Galion sighed and nodded and left the room, looking as if he was heading straight into a battle he couldn't win. Thranduil smirked and sat down by his desk, found a piece of parchment and some ink and a quill and then he wrote a short letter, with his left hand to make the handwriting look alien. He got up again and went to a cupboard hanging on the wall at the back of his room. It was filed with vials and boxes and he took one out, staring at it with a thoughtful expression. The cupboard had been there since his father died, Oropher had once wanted to become a healer and herbs and medicine fascinated him so he continued to experiment even after he became a king. It was sort of a hobby. Thranduil knew that this box contained some pills Oropher had made, in order to cure a sick horse. The animal had been acting rather weird and unpredictably and the medicine had calmed it down to a state where it was almost half asleep.

Alright, if one of these pills made a horse drowsy two ought to make an ellon fall asleep for days right? He stared at the box, heck, it was centuries old, two? Nah, three ought to do it, ah the heck, four. Just to be on the safe side. He took four large green pills out of the box and put it back, then he went down into his own personal wine cellar and pulled out a bottle from one of the shelves at the back. It was very old and very precious and he felt like a bastard for doing this to such exquisite wine but in love and war everything is fair right? As long as Candriel didn't realize he was behind it things ought to go smoothly. He pulled out the cork and added the pills to the wine before he replaced the cork and smeared some wax onto it, to make it look unopened.

He carried the bottle with him and attached the small note to it, then he hid it within his robes as he walked through the vast halls and corridors of the palace. He slipped into one of the hidden passages unnoticed and followed it for a while until he stood just outside of Lord Elhadron's chambers. He knew that Elhadron for the moment was busy doing an inventory of the armory and he opened a door and slipped in. Damn, that ellon could have benefitted from having some servants, the rooms were dusty, dark and cold and Thranduil made a grimace. It almost made Dol Guldur look like a luxurious palace. He sneezed and wiped some cobwebs away from a chair, maybe this was where those goddamn spiders were breeding? It wouldn't surprise him at all.

He placed the bottle on the desk, hid it behind some papers and sprinkled some ash from the hearth over it to resemble dust. Now he could only hope that Elhadron would see it and think it was something he had forgotten earlier on. He did sneak back into the halls and corridors and hoped to get some rest before he was to encounter the dragon once more, or rather, lady Gelinnas.

Just outside his chambers he was stopped by a small group of elves, it was some noble sindar and a few of the silvan population and all looked very concerned. He managed to look as cold and indifferent as usual but it was hard, darn hard. One of them bowed and hawked. " My king? We have heard that…that thy honored father's spirit have been seen within these halls? Shouldn't something be done about it?"

Thranduil felt an urge to roll his eyes, that that little mistake he did could have such consequences. Damnation! " I doubt that there was such a thing as a ghost, and if there were I hardly think there is anything we can do about it"

The ellon swallowed hard. "But my lord, what if thy father has some important message for us? What if he is sent by the Valar on some sacred mission?!"

Thranduil almost laughed. Oropher? Sacred? Those two words were rarely used within the same sentence. His father had been a terrific king but privately? He remembered finding his father in bed with both ellyn and ellith of all classes, he remembered Oropher's infamous temper and impatience and not the least his lewd humor, his fondness of pranking others in often very humiliating ways and his great love of wine, food and dirty jokes. No, Oropher had been anything but a saint and by Eru how he still missed him. " If he is then he will surely tell us, some way or the other wouldn't you think?"

The group mumbled. " Shouldn't we send for lord Elrond? Or maybe the lady Galadriel? They both have great powers and..,"

Thranduil cut the babbling elf off with a hand gesture. "No, absolutely no! If my father is indeed haunting these halls it is our concern and our concern alone. I will figure this out on my own thank you very much, and now excuse me, I need to do some real work!"

The crowd split to let him through and he sat down when he got back inside of his chambers. How the heck did he solve this one? He had no idea! But first things first, soon he had to go to "bless" that darn elleth again and he was afraid she would have become even more ferocious this time. Maybe he ought to feed her a couple of pills too? Just to calm her down?

He worked at his desk for some hours, then he had a nice dinner and tried to relax but he couldn't, not quite. The idea of Candriel being fucked by Elhadron ate at him, more than he would have thought it would. He hissed and tossed a cup at the wall, it shattered and he got up, paced around the room like a caged tiger. His plan had to work, it had to.

He waited until he was sure that everything was peaceful and quiet, then he got the costume on again and returned to Gelinnas rooms, she was asleep as last time and he went through his plan within his head before he woke her up again. He knew exactly what to say this time and he wasn't afraid to make some pretty big and fat lies. Gelinnas yawned but her eyes were alight with reverence and religious glee and he couldn't really believe that somebody could be as block headed as this elleth but she was. She bowed in front of him and he put on his most impressive expression. " Greetings child of Eru, are thou ready to receive thy blessings yet again?"

Gelinnas almost trembled. " Oh my lord,yes, yes I am. I have longed for thee the whole day, do bless me yet again, I yearn for it."

He had to hide a smirk, no doubt about that, he could smell her and she was already laying down with her legs spread, panting with huge eyes. " Alright beautiful one, three times this night remember?"

She nodded, eyes glazed and distant and he started by teasing her breasts gently. She was mewling and whimpering and he took his time. Gelinnas was very beautiful and she would have been a true gem if she hadn't been so pious and trapped by her own beliefs, he really hoped that there could be some happiness also for her. He used two fingers on her and she squealed and bucked and came almost instantly. " Oh Eru, it feels so good, I feel the light surrounding me, I see stars!"

He sniggered to himself. " Indeed you do lovely one. Now, relax a little before thy second blessing"

She obeyed and her eyes were soft, almost dreamy. " I have dreamt of thy face my lord, of thy strong hands touching my hröa, of thy voice. It makes me feel so happy"

Thranduil felt an urge to swear, shit, he didn't want her to fall in love with him, he wasn't even a real person with that costume and the glow and everything. He felt guilty and bad but he had to play along. " I am glad it does, and I have good news for thee."

She stared at him with such innocent trust he had problems keeping his voice firm. " I am very fond of thee too oh chosen one, but I can only do what my lord Manwë have ordered, my heart may never be thine."

She sighed. " I know, thou art a maia, a spirit born of Eru's will."

He nodded. " Manwë have given you a sacred mission lovely one, to save a soul from…fading, yes from fading into darkness where no light and joy is to be found"

He didn't know where that came from, but he had to go on. " Thy mission is to bring that soul back into the light, to show him joy and love once more."

Gelinnas gasped, her eyes were filling with tears. " Oh I am so honored, so honored. I will do my best, I swear I will!"

Thranduil nodded. " I doubt thee not, and now, thy second blessing."

He kissed and licked his way down south and she writhed and moaned and was the very image of erotic need. He just prayed that she wouldn't sing again, his nerves couldn't take that. It didn't take long, she came hard once more and squealed loudly, he wished he had worn earplugs. She was rolling her eyes and making soft moans and he continued, he wanted this over with and she didn't protest when he started fucking her with two fingers. She was tight and wet and warm and he ached to take her for real but he would have to wait. That ought to be the grand finale. But he was preparing her, and doing it well. She was clenching and gasping with her eyes shut and her mouth open and when she came the third time she shook so hard he had to grasp onto her to prevent himself from falling out of the bed. And she screamed like a stuck pig and he silenced her with a kiss. Now to the hard part, the part involving the bet.

He let her calm down yet again and then he caressed her gently. " Tomorrow evening I will seek thee to give thee thy full blessing."

She was still breathing hard, trembling with aftershocks and her eyes were glazed. " I am listening my lord"

He kissed her cheeks, caressed her ears. " Thou must not be afraid but to be fully blessed we must let our hroar unite, I will chase all darkness away from thee and let the warmth and purity of the light fill thee."

She just stared at him with huge eyes. " Oh!"

He continued to caress her and she obviously liked it a lot, unaccustomed as she was to physical contact. " It will hurt, I warn thee, but afterwards thou will be truly worthy of the valar themselves and thy light so much brighter than before."

She closed her eyes, looking very humble. " I am not afraid, tell me what to do"

He kept stroking her back, her hair, teasing her nipples with his tongue. " Tomorrow thou must come to the pool with the waterfall, it was once made sacred by the ancient ones. There I will show thee the true meaning of being whole"

She opened her eyes. " That pool is public?"

He had to play well now, very well. " Yes, but my magic will shield the area, there has to be water nearby, Manwë demands it, it protects against evil. Thou will know joy like never before."

Gelinnas looked very eager all of a sudden. " Oh yes, yes, I will obey."

He kissed her passionately and she answered with hunger and zeal. " Be there when the sun reaches zenith, then we will be one and thy hröa made holy by my lord."

She sighed and nodded, looking very pleased and he got up and knew that this would work if nothing happened that intervened with his brilliant plan. But nothing likely would. He made her fall asleep once more and hurried back to his own chambers. This time he wasn't seen by anyone.

Candriel had her own problems that night, she was rather sure that she would win but there was a small seed of doubt growing within her and she had problems keeping it from overtaking her mind. She wasn't afraid of losing, nor would she be very disappointed if she did but still where was a nagging sensation within her that demanded attention. Gelinnas was pretty, in fact some would say that she was far more beautiful than Candriel who after all wasn't a sinda. Someone like Gelinnas was way more suited to become the king's mistress than herself who was just a humble servant. She was afraid that Gelinnas would become so different from before that she would tempt the king way more than she ought to and Candriel was getting jealous too.

Candriel wouldn't have any of that, she wanted Thranduil to be done with that haughty noble woman the moment he had won or lost the bet and the fear that he would start to favor her in any way was glued to her mind. There had to be something she could do to prevent that? What if…? She grinned all of a sudden. What if the king suddenly got competition? Somebody else who also sought the attention of that fair lady? Then he would certainly back down, in fact he had to. He was the king, he couldn't get involved in scandals and he couldn't get re-married according to their ancient laws. Yes, that was it, she had to come up with a good candidate, someone who would fall for the lady's beauty, without questioning her personality nor its recent changes. She had just the right ellon, and her grin became rather vicious when she thought about it. She was a master at manipulation if she wanted to, this would be easy as pie, and just as sweet.

Early the next morning Candriel was already getting ready, she had put on a very heady perfume that ought to really bring out the beast in any ellon and her dress was lovely and seemingly modest but could be removed within the blink of an eye. She knew that the king probably was in place already, waiting for her and her victim and she had made sure that they would be watched too. She had asked one of the other servants to bring a plate with fruits on it to the small pavilion by the artificial pond and he would probably arrive just as they were at it. She just prayed that Elhadron wouldn't get cold feet but he hadn't, he was there, already looking slightly excited.

Candriel smiled sweetly and greeted him with a passionate kiss and Elhadron almost growled and kissed her back. His hands were roaming along her back, slipping down and over her ass and he was trembling. Was he already that eager?! " I am glad you are here, I have been thinking about you since yesterday."

She made her voice sweet and soft as ever and Elhadron nodded, there was something odd about his eyes, his pupils were so huge it didn't look natural and he was sweating. " I have thought about you too, your…your offer flatters me so"

He was trying to kiss her neck, his breath hot against her skin and she started to feel a bit insecure. What was going on? He hadn't been that way yesterday? Had he suddenly awakened to such a degree that he no longer was himself? She had bragged about the fact that she was able to make any male forget his own name out of sheer desire but this was ridiculous. But he was seemingly very eager and ready and so she embraced him and kissed him again. She let a hand caress the already hard bulge in his pants and he yelped and started unlacing his pants. Candriel was getting confused. They were still out in the open and he was ready to drop his pants? What the hey?

She grasped him and pulled him with her into the pavilion, it was rather open to and very beautiful made from some very light wood and there were carvings everywhere that made it look as if it was made from slender young trees that were entwined. The roof was also thin and made to look like a somewhat dense canopy and Candriel wondered where Thranduil was, he had to be near but she couldn't see him anywhere.

The king was indeed near, in the middle of the garden there was a single column that seemingly helped carry the ceiling, it was made to look like the stem of a giant oak and it was very realistic. Few knew that the column was hollow and now the tall sinda sat between some branches and stared down at the scene unfolding beneath him. From where he sat he had a perfect view of the entire garden and the pavilion and he was a bit confused to say the least. He had thought that Elhadron would be asleep by now, perhaps he had failed to notice the wine? Damn it! But he acted strangely, and Candriel was obviously also reaching that conclusion for she reached up and touched his cheek gently. " Are you alright?"

Elhadron panted, he grasped her dress and pulled it down rather aggressively, then he licked and sucked at her neck and breasts with an energy that was rather amazing. Candriel squealed and grasped him, got him to stand up and she let his pants drop. She had to get back in control, right away. Or else this could become something nasty. He growled. " Yes, please yes, do what you did yesterday!"

Candriel hurried to follow his wish, she grasped onto him and started stroking him before she went down to replicate her previous actions. Elhadron gasped and moaned and his hips were jerking, it looked rather obscene. And that was what the servant with the fruit suddenly was facing as he came sauntering along the narrow path, he stopped and stared, then he let out a tiny yelp and backed off into some bushes, very embarrassed and beet red.

Thranduil could see him very well, the servant stood there hidden behind a tree, obviously rather confused and he had left the tray on a bench. He was staring at the action in the pavilion with huge eyes and before long he was breathing hard. Thranduil sniggered, Candriel was really doing her best but why hadn't Elhadron fallen asleep. He was far from sleepy, in fact he seemed almost unnaturally energetic. The slender counsellor was making some rather lewd sounds and he seemed to have forgotten all about where they were and the fact that he previously had been very shy and afraid of females.

Candriel felt that she no longer was in control of the situation, it kind of creeped her out and she tried to make the ellon come so hard he would be satisfied with just a suck off. It didn't take long, he tossed his head back and yelled and Candriel was rather shocked, what in the name of Eru had gotten into him? She knew that the servant was out there somewhere, she had heard him in spite of everything but this yelling could be heard by everybody who ventured into that hall. He had to have lost his mind.

Thranduil was frowning, Elhadron was clearly not himself, the normally rigid and correct demeanor completely changed, the ellon was acting more like a stag in rut than an ordinary person. The servant was crouched down in the bushes, his hand shoved into his pants and he was clearly enjoying himself a lot but Thranduil started to fear that Candriel would win, and worse, be in trouble.

She got up and tried to smile. " How do you feel my lord?"

He panted and grasped her, kissed her again almost brutally. " I feel…like I am burning, I…I don't know what is wrong with me!"

He growled and suddenly he grasped her by her waist and lifted her, threw her down onto a table and threw her skirts up before he threw himself on top of her, making desperate sounds. Candriel would have screamed if she could but she was too stunned. Suddenly he was pushing himself inside of her and even though this meant that she by now had a very fair chance of winning she didn't like it. He was being rough and had no control and he was roaring and groaning and thrusting so hard she feared he would injure her seriously.

Thranduil was shocked, he had to do something, this was not right, something was clearly very wrong with Elhadron and he started to suspect that he had reacted to those pills in a very unusual way. The servant shuddered and sank down onto his knees, obviously coming from the show and normally Thranduil would have enjoyed it but not now. He feared that Candriel could be in danger and he had to figure out what Elhadron's problem was.

He quickly climbed down from the tree and marched ahead along the path, as if he was taking a morning stroll through his kingdom. The servant came creeping out of the bushes, looking very sheepish and also embarrassed and he went pale white when he saw the king approaching. He scurried off like a frightened cat.

At that moment the table gave up its struggle and broke in half, Candriel ended up on the floor with Elhadron on top of her, he wasn't even missing a beat, kept thrusting into her while he whimpered and groaned. Candriel was scared, he didn't hurt her yet but it was uncomfortable laying there on a pile of boards getting fucked as if there was no tomorrow. Elhadron had to have gone mad for sure. Suddenly there as an icy voice coming from above and Candriel let out a small whimper out of sheer relief. " What is going on here?!"

Elhadron rolled his eyes, sweat was pouring off of him and then he tensed up and screamed so bad Candriel thought he had to be dying or something. Then he went limp, completely limp and he didn't move at all and she suddenly felt an irrational fear of having killed the poor ellon. "Thran, help, he…he has gone mad…And I think he passed out?!"

Thranduil crouched down and helped Candriel roll Elhadron over, he was unconscious and very pale and Thranduil felt a surge of sheer panic. What if that spiked wine had killed him? Then it would be his fault, oh Eru, it was horrible. He touched Elhadron's neck with his fingertips and to his great relief he could feel his heart beating but it did beat with a very strange rhythm indeed. Candriel was gasping. " He…he wasn't himself at all, what happened?"

Thranduil didn't want to confess to what he had done, she was in a fragile state of mind right now and he just shook his head. " I will look into it, help me getting him dressed, then go get a healer!"

Candriel obeyed and then she got her own dress back in order before she ran off to find somebody who could fetch the palace healers. Thranduil stared down at the ellon, he was soaking wet and did stink and his breathing was uneven and shallow. It was clearly some sort of poisoning and he took a swift decision. He bent down and put a hand onto the ellon's forehead, dove swiftly into his mind to see what he had been up to, if the wine indeed was the cause for this. He saw the past actions of the elf as blurred swiftly shifting images and Elhadron had in fact found the wine but he hadn't opened it. Instead he had carried it down into his private cellar to be tested later. The letter had spoken of a ruined vintage and asked for his opinion and he wanted to have a clear head when he did such important work.

Afterwards he had obviously been thinking a lot about Candriel and he had gotten nervous that he would be inadequate somehow, that he wouldn't rise to the occasion so to speak. So Elhadron had found a box of pills of his own, left by his brother in law many years ago.

Thranduil felt how his knees got weak with sheer relief, he hadn't murdered the elf, thank Eru for that. Elhadron had brought this upon himself, he had taken a handful of those pills. Candriel came running back with two healers and Thranduil got up. "He is alive, but very sick I fear. "

The head healer touched Elhadron's wrist. "Do you know what ails him my lord?"

Thranduil tried to act calm. " Uhm, he had a meeting here, with a lady? And I checked his memories and it appears that he has taken something to …uh….enhance his performance but it didn't have quite the desired effect"

The healer rolled her eyes. " Oh Eru, those things can be very dangerous, no wonder he is a mess. Alright, we will bring him to our ward and get some coal into him and then we can only wait. The medicine is in his system, we cannot do anything except keeping an eye on him for now"

Thranduil just nodded. "Then do that."

The healers got Elhadron onto a stretcher and carried him off and Thranduil sighed, he felt as if this whole thing had been one giant mistake from day one. Candriel straightened her skirt, she was pale and shaky and visibly distraught and Thranduil quickly hugged her." Are you alright?"

She smiled, a swift wry grin. " Yes, I am, what was he thinking?! He could have gotten himself killed, and I had such a nice plan and everything and all…"

Thranduil tilted his head. " A plan?"

Candriel sat down, she looked very young at the moment. " Yes, a great one. I was planning on playing a match maker, to get him and Gelinnas together."

Thranduil tilted his head, there was a spark appearing within those bright blue eyes. " Do you know what Candriel? I think there may yet come something good out of this bet."

She looked confused. " It does?"

He nodded. " Yes, it will, go back home and rest, I have a job to do. Gelinnas will most certainly be overwhelmed if she learns that Elhadron is meant for her."

Candriel looked horrified. " You cannot just…Oh Eru you can! "

Thranduil just grinned. " Imagine, helping two unhappy souls finding true joy and peace at last, isn't it lovely?"

Candriel rolled her eyes. " But I planned it just to make sure that you wouldn't fall for Gelinnas, not to make a real couple out of them? What if they don't match? "

Thranduil had a rather wicked expression within his eyes. " By the time I am done with her, they will!"

He took off and Candriel stared after him, was the bet still on or had he called it off? She had succeeded hadn't she? Or had Elhadron's unfortunate attempt at self medication ruined her chances? After all, it hadn't been her seductive skills that had done the job. Oh what was the point in thinking about it, she was safe again and she wondered what would have happened if the king hadn't come to her rescue. If someone else had come and found her there trapped beneath Elhadron rumors would have spread faster than fleas for sure. Her reputation would have been utterly ruined. And that would have hurt Thranduil too, there were things people probably never would accept from a king, such an incident involving his mistress would be counted among them.

She got back to her rooms and took a long warm bath, wondering if Thranduil really meant what he had said, that playing matchmakers to Gelinnas and Elhadron was a good idea. She wasn't afraid Gelinnas would steal her lover's affection anymore, but she was still worried that he would do something stupid. Did he really have to go through with it to make that happen? She would have preferred that the king just spoke to Gelinnas but then again, he was the king and he was in charge, she had no right to ask too much of him.

Thranduil hurried to put on the costume one last time, he was feeling rather excited. He had to go through with it all, or else she would become suspicious, but he had a very good idea of how he was to solve it all. The pool was rather huge and the cave that held it was very beautiful with gorgeous vine patterns carved into its walls. At one end there was a tall cliff the young elves often would climb and dive off, and the pool was very deep. At the other end there was a waterfall coming out of the very wall itself, fed from a underground stream.

There were benches placed along the edge of the huge pool and some tables too. It was a popular place to just relax in the hot summer months and Thranduil just hoped that there wouldn't be anybody else there. He arrived through one of the hidden corridors and the door was hidden within the pattern carved into the walls.

It appeared as if he came straight out of the wall and Gelinnas turned her head around with a gasp and wide eyes. She sat on one of the benches and she wore a dress that she probably would have preferred to burn earlier. It showed off quite a lot and he hid his grin and bowed his head. " Greetings fair one, and rejoice."

Gelinnas leaned forth, her eyes were shining and her cheeks were red with excitement and eagerness. " Thou art here, I am ready to do whatever thou bid me do"

She tried to sound like some first age noble and it was a bit hilarious but he managed to keep his face calm and he touched her chin gently. " Then remove thy garments."

She practically tore her dress off and he stared at her, she was blushing and her eyes rather dark. He had to do this just the right way, there was only once chance. He had great powers since he after all was an ancient elf and their mental powers got stronger with age, he knew he could do it. It would require a lot but it could be done. He started caressing her, slowly and gently while he sent a silent plea to the Valar, they couldn't be disturbed now. He kissed her neck, let his tongue slide across soft velvety skin and she gasped and shivered, leaned into his embrace with absolute submission. He understood why Candriel had gotten jealous, Gelinnas would have been a perfect candidate to become a royal mistress if it hadn't been for her peculiar ways. No, she was gorgeous but not his type, not really.

He started whispering soft words to her to make her relax and she didn't resist at all when he let his fingers tease her yet again. He couldn't risk taking her all the way before he took her, someone could hear her infernal screeching. She was trembling with need and he made sure she was as ready as she really could be. The bet didn't matter anymore, but he wanted to win anyway. He wasn't the kind of an ellon who just gave up when he had his mind set upon something. Gelinnas was panting and her skin gleaming with sweat, she was almost pleading. " Oh my lord, do it, do it now!"

He got her up on her knees on the bench, facing away from him. That was the only way he could do it without removing too much of his clothing and he kissed her neck gently. " Now lovely one, prepare to be fully blessed, to be filled with the light."

She whimpered. " Oh yes, I am ready, I am not afraid."

He managed to get his robes out of the way and got into position. " When thou sees the light my lord Manwë will reveal to thee who it is you are to save, who it is who holds the other part of thy heart and soul"

She gasped. " Oh, how wonderful, I am so honored"

He caressed her gently, she rocked back against him moaning and he sighed and grasped her hips, pushed himself into her with one powerful thrust. Gelinnas let out a weird yelp, face scrunched in a grimace of both pleasure and pain. She trembled and he whispered soothing words, after all, he was the first and it had to be uncomfortable but she didn't seem to mind that much. She was breathing hard and pressing herself back towards him. " My lord, oh Eru, it..it feels…I have no words!"

He started to move, very gently and slowly and she closed her eyes, let out a hearty moan and began to follow his rhythm, rocking back against him. Thranduil couldn't believe it, she was really tight and wonderful and he had a hard time controlling himself but he had never believed that she could be that relaxed about it. He had anticipated a bit more drama, tears perhaps and maybe even screams but she really enjoyed it. It was wonderful, he reached forth, caressed her breasts and she sounded almost like a very pleased cat. Her mind was open now, wide open, her defenses obliterated by her desperate desire and he started inserting images within her thoughts, ideas and commands and she didn't really notice it. She was utterly consumed by her pleasure and she was getting rather loud.

He couldn't draw this out, he had to be gone before someone came who could see them so he reached down between her shivering tights and caressed her clit with a finger. She shook, her mouth wide open and ecstatic grimaces flowing across her fair face. " Thou will not see me again my dear, but remember my words thou will, and thy heart will find true love"

She moaned. " Yes, yes, oh yes"

She was close and he increased the speed and force of his movements, soon somebody would show up and he didn't want to let anyone see this. If they thought that the ghost was interested in females his father's reputation would be utterly ruined. Imagine, a ghost who liked to fuck? It would create quite an uproar, Oropher had been everything but pious so perhaps some would think that the halls had to be too boring for their previous king.

Gelinnas tensed up and he could feel her coming, she was clenching around him so hard it almost hurt but he focused upon her, as she trembled through her release he entered her mind again, finished what he had tried to do and she went limp. He swiftly removed the memory of him from her mind, she would wake up and be confused yes, but convinced that her previous ways had been wrong and that Elhadron was her true love who yet was unaware of that fact, and that being with him was even better than this. He didn't allow himself to finish, he just pulled out and tucked himself back into his pants before he wrapped a towel around Gelinnas who was unconscious.

He was about to walk away when he heard the sound of running feet and spun around, someone was coming and fast. He didn't have time to enter the hidden entrance, it was too far away. Two elflings came rushing into the huge cave, both wore sheets covering them and they were giggling hysterically as a group of rather irate ellith chased them. The elflings stopped dead in their tracks and just stared and the ellith screamed and spun around. One ran forth and grasped the elflings to carry them off and Thranduil had only one option, he had to hide! He couldn't reach the hidden entrance without them seeing it and he couldn't risk being exposed. It would be a scandal. Swift as the wind he sought shelter upon the cliff, it had a sort of stair built into it and some small ledges that could be used as a hideout if someone wasn't really looking. But he was still glowing and he was really in quite a predicament. He already heard many feet running in his direction and knew that it was only a matter of time before he was seen again, and he couldn't just disappear through the hidden corridors if there were other elves within the cave. Damnation, how was he to solve this?

A whole herd of elves came rushing into the cave, the ellith he had scared in front and they were shouting and yelling. He saw several guards and even Galion, oh Eru, what was he to do? They didn't notice Gelinnas who lay on the bench as if she was fast asleep and he hoped that what he had done would work. But how was he to solve this? He was trapped upon the cliff and he bit his lower lip, could he just stay there until they left? No, they would most certainly search through the room.

He did see that they were nervous though, Galion was pale and the warriors looked as if they expected a balrog to jump out of the walls at any time. Galion wrung his hands, then he hawked and spoke, his voice very meek. " Honored one, if thou are here, please what is it that you want?"

Thranduil suddenly got a revelation, sort of. He was standing straight above the place where the pool was at its deepest and that was where it was connected with the underground river. He was a very good swimmer and he had good lungs too, he could make it. It was only one choice, he couldn't allow himself to be caught pretending to be a ghost. They would think he had gone bonkers for sure. Galion tried again, his voice trembling and he was sweating visibly. " Oh unrestful spirit, show thyself, we are listening?"

He took a deep breath, whispered the spell that transformed his voice again and stepped forth, suddenly he stood on the ledge and it had to appear as if he was coming out of the rock itself. The ellith shrieked and the warriors threw themselves down onto one knee, staring at the floor. Galion whimpered and grasped his chest, Thranduil had never heard of an elf capable of getting a heartattack but Galion looked like a prime candidate there and then. " Listen oh children of the forest, I have a message to bring thee"

Oh crap, think fast, think fast damn it. " Uh, the valar have asked me to bring thee some information regarding their preferences."

The elves were silent, you could have heard a needle fall to the ground, even the elflings stared at the tall glowing figure with huge eyes.

Thranduil tried to come up with some ideas that would sound realistic. " Uh, the lord Oromë would ask you to kindly kill more spiders as they are damaging the woods and Yavanna wishes that you would stop planting so many pink lilies in the gardens and instead use the blue ones, she prefers them you see. Your chef shouldn't use that much salt in his soup and the commoners should not wear purple except from when they are attending a wedding."

Galion looked confused. " Hu?"

Thranduil continued. " And Ulmo wants to tell you that you from now on honor the oceans and streams by eating fish once a month. And he also wishes that you stop serving crayfish except from at yule."

Galion blinked, that was probably not what he had expected to hear. " It…it will be done…"

Thranduil had gotten inspired by now, he raised an arm in a very royal gesture. " And when there are noldor present at thy feasts they must be served one jug of bitter ale each, as a reminder of the sins of the past."

The bitter ale was just terrible and Thranduil hated it, but it was said to be very healthy so no harm would be done by this little idea. And those haughty noldor deserved to be reminded of the chaos they had caused in earlier ages.

Galion bowed his head. " It will be so"

Thranduil was satisfied with that, he hated crayfish and now he wouldn't have to worry about that anymore. "Then oh children of the forest I will bid thee goodbye, I will never return"

Galion looked shocked. " Thou hast no more messages? Not any for thy son?"

The ghost made a weird gesture. " Oh…uh…tell him he is doing…a fairly good job, yes, a fairly good job."

Galion frowned, what was this? He would have thought that the ghost of their dead king would have had something more important to say, but if this was the will of the valar then be it.

Thranduil took a deep breath, then he dove off the ledge and into the pool, he didn't even make a splash and he swam desperately towards the opening leading down to the river. He reached it and swam through it, his lungs were soon burning but he had to endure. He kicked off from the walls and reached air within a small crevice. It wasn't a moment too late, he was close to drowning. He let the river carry him along until he reached a hatch that lead down from the wine cellar. It was used in case any of the barrels they sent with the stream got stuck and he lifted it carefully. There was nobody there, thank Eru for that.

Swiftly he got up, dripping wet. He removed his clothes and found one of the hidden corridors, ran through it shivering from his head to his feet. The water was cold and he had gotten a few bruises on the way too. He knew that the news of the sighting would be spreading like wildfire and he expected Galion to come bursting in any minute. He threw himself into the pool, scrubbed away at the fluorescent liquid and then he combed his hair, braided it and sat down in his favorite chair by the heart, a glass of wine in his hands.

His heart was still racing and he felt a deep urge to laugh, but he managed to keep his face completely calm. Oh Eru, Galion's expression had been priceless! The door burst open, it almost cracked when it hit the wall and Galion was standing there wild eyed and almost out of breath. " My liege, my liege, I saw him, the ghost of thy father."

Thranduil sighed and stared at the wine in his glass. " I hear you, so what did the ghost have to say?"

Galion gulped. " The valar are apparently worried about the dietary habits of our realm, and our use of colors? It is confusing but I guess they have their reasons. At least Oromë are worried about the spider problem."

Thranduil just sent Galion a swift hint of a smile. "Anything else?"

Galion had some peculiar ticks running across his face, his muscles were twitching and jerking. " Uh, he said….he said you were doing a…fairly good job"

Thranduil just waved his hand at Galion. " Very well then, I hope that will be the last I will hear of this?"

Galion nodded, " He said he wouldn't return before he disappeared."

Thranduil raised an eyebrow. " Disappeared? "

Galion cocked his head, looking rather displeased. " Yes, he dove into the pool and disintegrated, not a sign of him, but I guess that is what ghosts do right? "

Thranduil nodded slowly. " You are probably right, was there anything more?"

Galion shook his head, he appeared to be a bit stunned by his kings lack of enthusiasm, after all, it isn't everyday that the ghost of your father appears to deliver such…important…messages from the valar themselves. " No, uh"

Thranduil waved him off. " Dismissed then, go prepare the dining hall, and inform the chef of the valars orders"

Galion nodded and retreated, fuming. He wasn't happy at all and Thranduil hid his smirk. He got up and put on a robe and some pants. Then he went to the healing ward to check up on Elhadron who was unconscious still. He silently added some new ideas and orders to the ellon's mind and he did see that someone had found Gelinnas too, she hadn't awakened and Thranduil grinned to himself. The healers believed that she had seen the ghost and passed out from sheer shock and since they were placed within the same room they would certainly meet. Thranduil was sure that sparks would fly when they saw each other, the mental orders he had left would ensure that.

He went back to his rooms and Candriel came to him that evening. She looked very uncertain and he smiled and pulled her down onto his lap, kissed her gently. He hadn't been able to get a release during his encounter with Gelinnas and now he was aching for Candriel and her skills and eager ways. " My lord, you won the bet didn't you?"

He sighed and kissed her again, let his hands run through her long silky locks. " Let us forget about that stupid bet, we don't need such things now do we? "

She giggled and returned the kiss with glee. " No, we don't. "

Thranduil put his hand down into her bodice and caressed her soft breasts lovingly, tonight he would allow nothing to disturb them. She giggled. " I have heard about the "ghost". How did it go with the fair Gelinnas?"

Thranduil licked her neck and she squealed, glad that he was back where he ought to be, with her and nobody else. " It went very well thank you, when she wakes up she will find Elhadron as irresistible as he finds her and she will be convinced that being with him is as close to paradise as one can possibly be"

Candriel had to cough. " Really? Even if he should happen to be rather terrible in bed?!"

Thranduil snickered. " He won't be, I gave him a whole bunch of ideas."

She stared at him with huge eyes. "You didn't? Oh Morgoth's balls, you did! They'll be at it like wild bunnies!"

The king chuckled and tickled her bottom. " Oh yes, isn't it wonderful? I bet Elhadron will be more than a little busy satisfying her from now on, no more trying to create problems for me. And Gelinnas will have no reason to be so darn self-righteous, she will become far more likeable I hope."

Candriel just shrugged and unlaced his pants. " At least something came out of this bet, but I am warning you my lord, I am still able to seduce anyone I want."

Thranduil gasped as she started to stroke him, his eyes fluttered shut and he let his head fall back against the chair. " I have never doubted you my dear, you have most certainly seduced me!"

She got that wicked glint in her eyes again, leaned down and he grasped onto the chair and whimpered. " As you have me my lord, and now, no more talking"

He just nodded. " I hear you!"

A week later Legolas returned from a long patrol, they had burned spider's nests along the rivers and he was tired and the tips of his hair singed after a small mishap with a torch. He was staggering more than walking as he entered one of the public baths, it was very late and the palace was silent, he was alone there.

He only believed that for about two minutes, suddenly he heard some groans that sounded remarkably like those from a laboring cow and he blinked in confusion and got back out of the water. At the back of the room there were some booths where one could leave clothes and stuff and he stared with huge eyes. Somebody was occupying one of the booths and there was no doubt about their activity. Somebody was fucking like mad in there and the entire structure shook as if a severe earthquake was rocking it.

Legolas was shocked, not even the most bold and rambunctious of his fellow warriors would do that, fuck in such a public space. He wondered who this could be? It had to be some youngsters, probably silvan youths. Then he heard a piercing shriek followed by a pleading voice. " Oh my love, I feel it, I feel the light, oh fill me once more Elhadron, you are the best!"

Legolas stared, his jaw almost touching his chest. Elhadron?! The highly esteemed member of his father's council? Renowned and infamous for being a grouch of epic format? The most stingy ellon there ever was? Was his ears damaged in some way?

There was a hoarse male voice answering. " I am going to fuck that tight little cunt of yours Gelinnas, until you cannot move and then I will do it again, scream for me wench!"

Legolas blinked, and blinked again. Gelinnas?! The high born pious lady who dressed in a tent, claimed that everybody was so sinful the valar had to be crying and insisted that she was the only truly pure person within the realm? What in Eru's name had happened?

He tossed a towel around his waist and ran to his father's chambers, knocked and heard him answering. The king stood by the hearth with a book and he looked a bit shocked by seeing his son dripping wet with only a towel to preserve his modesty. " Ada? Uh…what has happened here?"

Thranduil cocked an eyebrow, looked completely at ease. " Has anything happened?"

Legolas nodded. " I…I was in the baths, and then I heard…I heard someone…fucking like wild beasts."

Thranduil shrugged. " That is not so unusual, the baths are warm, and quiet this late."

Legolas rolled his eyes and almost hissed. " It was Elhadron and Gelinnas, ELHADRON ada, and GELINNAS! By Eru's shorts, they….they…"

Thranduil put the book down and smiled. " Easy there ion nin, you look silly like that, let them have some fun, after all, they haven't really lived that much now have they?"

Legolas eyes got narrow, he glared at his father,. " Ada, what have you done?! You have something to do with this don't you?"

Thranduil just shrugged again. " Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Elhadron has been a pain in the ass for years but now he is finally becoming a bit more agreeable and Gelinnas isn't the fear of all the court ladies anymore. "

Legolas just opened and closed his mouth a few times before he managed to say anything. "How…what…What did you do to them?!"

Thranduil put a hand on his son's shoulder, winked with a glimpse in his eyes. " I have said it before son, and I will say it again. There is yet a lot for you to learn about being a king!"


End file.
